A 45-year-old man was arrested in the fatal shooting of another man at a Riverside motel, officials announced Wednesday.
Officers responded to the Motel 6 in the 3600 block of La Sierra Avenue just after 6 a.m. on May 17, and found a man suffering from a gunshot wound, the Riverside Police Department said in a news release.
Paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene. He was later identified as Cole William Birchard, 31, of Riverside, according to police.
A preliminary investigation found that Birchard was involved in a physical altercation with another man. At some point, the man produced a handgun and fatally shot Birchard in the chest, Riverside police said.
The man then got into a vehicle and fled the scene in an unknown direction.
Detectives later identified 45-year-old Robert Donald Intong of Desert Hot Springs as the suspect in the shooting and arrested him the same day at a hotel in the 10500 block of Magnolia Avenue, Riverside police said.
Intong was later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of murder and weapons violations. He is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on June 4, booking records show.
The homicide investigation is ongoing and there are no further details.
Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Bryan Galbreath at 951-353-7105 or BGalbreath@RiversideCA.Gov, or Detective Bryon Adcox at 951-353-7134 or JAdcox@RiversideCA.Gov. Those wishing to remain anonymous can email Rpdtips@RiversideCA.Gov or utilize the Department’s mobile app “Submit a Tip” feature while referencing report number 210013710.