Racially Motivated Killing In Banning: Police Pin 2 Convicts

BANNING, CA — Two convicted felons — one who is already charged in multiple Banning slayings — are now suspected of killing a 51-year-old man in a racially motivated attack in Banning, authorities said Monday.

William Arnold Armendariz, 24, and Samuel Vasquez, 22, both of Banning, allegedly shot and killed Charles Warren Neazer of Banning in 2015, according to police.

Banning detectives have submitted the case to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office for review.

Armendariz is already charged with several counts of first-degree murder and special circumstance allegations of killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang in connection with killings in July 2018 and September 2020, according to court documents.

He is charged in the September slayings at San Gorgonio Memorial Park Cemetery. He is also charged in the July 1, 2018 shooting death of Bradley Seth Cunningham. (Read more:Accused Cemetery Killer Charged In Cunningham Slaying)

Armendariz is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.

Fellow documented gang member Vasquez is charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and firearm assault stemming from an attack in 2017, documents showed. He's being held in lieu of $1 million bail, also at the Murrieta jail.

According to a Banning Police Department statement, the cold case involving Neazer's slaying required pulling patrol officers from their regular duties to assist homicide detectives with the years-long investigation.

Ultimately, detectives confirmed that Armendariz and Vasquez were driving through the 200 block of North Fifth Street, near Williams Street, on the night of Nov. 7, 2015, when they spotted the victim crossing the street and allegedly decided to shoot him because he was Black, police said.
Neazer was struck several times when the suspects opened fire with handguns, investigators allege. He died at the scene.

Witnesses provided limited assistance, but detectives were able to develop leads and piece together sufficient evidence to eventually identify Armendariz and Vasquez as the alleged shooters, according to police.

Identifying Armendariz and Vasquez as suspects was a "monumental task" only made possible by increasing staffing in the department's Detective Bureau, according to Banning police.

"Chief Hamner had to make the difficult decision to remove officers from patrol and reassign them to the Detective Bureau, in order to effectively work these complicated murder investigations," the department said in a released statement. "This decision has been paying off and continues to do so."

According to court records, Armendariz has a prior conviction for auto theft, while Vasquez has a prior felony for domestic violence.

—City News Service and Patch Editor Toni McAllister