Triple-Murder Suspects To Stand Trial For Lake Elsinore Killings

LAKE ELSINORE, CA – An ex-con and a woman accused with an associate of gunning down three people in a Lake Elsinore home during a gang-related attack must stand trial for first-degree murder and other charges, a judge ruled Friday.

Saul Arevalo Jr., 35, and Kayla Marie Lyon, 29, both of Rialto, were arrested in 2016 for the deaths of 55-year-old Cameron Craven, 57-year-old Robert Kushner and 31-year-old Rachel Rupp -- all of Lake Elsinore.

Following a preliminary hearing at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Stephen Gallon found there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for the pair on three counts of murder, as well as one count of criminal street gang activity. Gallon also held Arevalo to answer charges of burglary and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, along with special circumstance allegations of killing for the benefit of a street gang and taking multiple lives.

The judge scheduled a post-preliminary hearing arraignment for Aug. 31.

Arevalo is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta, and Lyon is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

Mario Cruz Lopez, 41, of San Bernardino is charged identically to Arevalo, with whom he was arrested in December 2016. Lopez is due in court on Aug. 10 and is being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside.

According to Riverside County Sheriff's Sgt. Wally Clear, the victims were found about 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 2, 2016, at a residence in the 31000 block of Wisconsin Street. Each occupant had been shot to death.

Detectives did not identify any suspects until more than three months later, when Arevalo and Lopez were determined to be the alleged perpetrators, Clear said. No details were disclosed regarding clues or evidence.

The defendants were located in the Central Jail in San Bernardino, where Arevalo was being held for alleged gang activity, and Lopez was serving time for domestic violence.

The pair were questioned and arrested while in custody, Clear said.

Lyon was identified as an alleged co-conspirator a few weeks after a criminal complaint was filed against the men. She was arrested at her Rialto home.

According to court records, both Arevalo and Lopez have served time in state prison.

Arevalo's prior convictions include being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of ammunition and receiving stolen property. In addition to domestic violence, Lopez has prior convictions for theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm, records showed.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Two Suspects ID'd in Lake Elsinore Triple Homicide Following Months-Long Investigation
• Woman Arrested in Lake Elsinore Triple Murder: Police

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--City News Service/Images via Riverside County Sheriff's Department