Trial date set for criminal accused of murdering Indian woman in 2016

A trial date was confirmed Thursday for a felon suspected of fatally shooting a woman outside an Indio garage in 2016.

Marcos Cruz Gaeta, 43, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and felony charges of being a convicted felon and drug addict in possession of a firearm, as well as the enhanced charge of causing serious bodily injury by firing a firearm, according to court documents. Gaeta entered his plea on March 12, 2019.

The trial against the defendant is scheduled to begin on October 31st.

According to the Indio Police Department, Gaeta was arrested on March 8, 2019 in Cathedral City on a fugitive warrant stemming from the August 28, 2016 death of 30-year-old Jamie Maher of Indio.

During a preliminary hearing, prosecutors called witnesses who claimed Gaeta shot Maher multiple times outside the garage of a Santa Rosa Avenue apartment building.

Angela Shaw, the daughter of the woman who owned the property, testified that she was in her room at the time of the shooting, with her back to the window facing the garage area, where she said “Smokey,” the defendant who shot Maher .

“First I heard a (shot) and then I looked out the window and saw (Maher) running out of my garage and he reloaded his gun and then shot her six more times in the stomach,” Shaw said. “…It happened so quickly, I couldn't really understand in my head what was going on and I couldn't really concentrate or think.”

Monique Rivas and her husband Hector “Whiskey” Rivera, who were at the residence the same day, testified that they did not tell law enforcement about Gaeta's involvement in the shooting after the shooting out of fear.

Rivas said she believes Gaeta was followed for miles and hit by someone in a red truck several weeks after the incident. Rivera claimed that Gaeta took him on a car ride and told him that if anyone said anything or talked to anyone about anything, it would be “another body under his belt.”

“This is the code we live by. We live by the principle: What you see, don't say, and what you see, don't tell anyone else – you keep it to yourself. The day you open your mouth has consequences,” Rivera said. “When you get your family involved, it’s difficult.”

Gaeta's defense attorney Melanie Roe claimed that there was a rumor that Rivera was the shooter because, according to him, he was in the apartment at the time of the incident, usually carrying a firearm, and drove away in his truck shortly afterward Shots fired.

Maher was found shot multiple times and emergency responders performed CPR on her, but she died at the scene a short time later, police said.

Trial date set for criminal accused of murdering Indian woman in 2016

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Trial date set for criminal accused of murdering Indian woman in 2016

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