Man, Woman Accused Of Murder in RivCo After They 'Lured' Victim: PD

RIVERSIDE, CA — Two people were arrested on suspicion of murder after a 28-year-old man was "lured" to a business in downtown Riverside last month, police said Wednesday.

The fatal shooting happened Feb. 6. Officers responded to a report of a gunshot victim around 5 a.m. in the 4400 block of Main Street. Nile Blackston-Jefferson, 28, was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics arrived minutes later and pronounced Blackston-Jefferson dead at the scene, according to the Riverside Police Department.

Detectives investigated the shooting with assistance from the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner's Office and learned Blackston-Jefferson and the suspect, 32-year-old Timothy Ian Carroll, were both local transients. The investigation revealed Blackston-Jefferson was lured to a nearby business where he was shot by Carroll, who was aided in the shooting by another suspect, 49-year-old Jamie Estevez, according to Riverside Police Department.

Carroll and Estevez were arrested and booked into jail — Carroll at the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta, and Estevez at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. Both were being held on $1 million bail each.

Both defendants are charged with first-degree murder, while Carroll alone is charged with probation violations and sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

Carroll and Estevez pleaded not guilty during an arraignment on Feb. 20, at which time Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jay Kiel scheduled a felony settlement conference for the two defendants on March 24 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

City News Service contributed to this report.