Murder Charge Expected In Perris Beating Death

PERRIS, CA — A murder charge is expected to be filed Tuesday against a 30-year-old man suspected in the fatal beating of a Perris resident.

Claudio Andres Perez was arrested Thursday night following the alleged attack on 37-year-old Manuel Marroquin and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

According to Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Rick Carroll, the suspect and Marroquin were involved in a physical confrontation about 7 p.m. Thursday in the 2000 block of Mount Verdugo Lane, just west of the Ramona Expressway.

Deputies were sent to the location and discovered the victim conscious but gravely injured, Carroll said.

He said the patrolmen were able to question Marroquin briefly before he collapsed. Deputies attempted CPR until paramedics arrived and took over, but the victim died at the scene, according to the sergeant.

Perez, who suffered minor injuries, was detained nearby and questioned before he was treated and booked into jail.

A possible motive for the altercation was not disclosed, and there was no word on how the two men knew one another.