Coachella man charged with 2020 killing of man found burned in Mecca

A 34-year-old Coachella man who is set to go to trial on one murder charge this week has been charged with a second 2020 killing, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office reported Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, Ruben Esquivel has been charged with multiple felonies, including murder, arson and use of a gun in the commission of a felony, in the death of 23-year-old Mecca resident Luis Pinedo. Pinedo's body was found in a burning vehicle on Pierce Street in Thermal on July 18, 2020.

The sheriff’s department announced two days after Pinedo was found that evidence of what they described as “homicidal violence” had been observed during an autopsy of Pinedo’s body. That's when the case became a homicide investigation.

Esquivel was arrested just days after Pinedo’s body was found, following an hourslong standoff during which Esquivel barricaded himself inside a home near Mecca when deputies came to arrest him on a warrant. Days later, Esquivel was arrested for the murder of Vincent Aispuro, who lived in Indio.

Aispuro died after he was found with life-threatening injuries in the 47-600 block of Van Buren Street in Indio on Feb. 21, 2020. Esquivel was eventually charged with Aispuro’s murder, along with causing great bodily injury by shooting a gun and being a convicted felon and narcotics addict in possession of a gun. The trial in that case is set to begin on Thursday, according to court records.

Esquivel has remained in jail in Indio since his 2020 arrest and is currently being held on a $1 million bail, according to court records.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the city of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella man charged with 2020 killing of man found burned in Mecca