Moreno Valley Unified School Board member Mike Rios was arrested Thursday morning on Suspicion of Attempted Murder.

February 16, 2012 - Police say One of Moreno Valley Unified’s Board of Trustees - Mike Rios, fired at two men in front of his home but initially portrayed himself as the victim.(Again)

                           

/RIVERSIDE COUNTY                                                                        See any Bullet Holes?

     (Actually, This is not Rios' house. It belongs to some other
poor sucker. I just neededd a picture to use. Thanks Reader
Marion...  I didn't even know we had a reader!?)

Sheriff's Derpartment

                           

Original story BY JOHN ASBURY AND LAURIE LUCAS

P.E. STAFF WRITERS

Originally published, February 16 2012 04:05 PM


Edited by I, Praetorian

·        WEBLINK PE: Moreno Valley trustee's wife facing deportation (Nov. 28, 2011)

·        WEBLINK PE: Newly elected Mike Rios hopes to shake up school board (Nov. 28, 2010)

·        WEBLINK Mike Rios' blog

A Moreno Valley Unified School board member who reported two men shot at him early Monday was himself arrested Thursday by police who say it was actually him who shot at the men after arguing with them at a nightclub. Mike Rios, 41, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, where he remained Thursday evening. Bail was set at $1 million, standard in attempted-murder cases. Rios has not yet been charged. Riverside County prosecutors are expected to review the case next week to determine what charges should be filed.

Moreno Valley Unified Superintendent Judy White said she would meet with the school board in closed session before Tuesday’s regular meeting to discuss how to handle the situation.

Fellow school board members and others who know Rios reacted to the news Thursday with a mix of shock and sadness.

Trustee Jesus Holguin said it’s not for him to decide whether to keep Rios on the board. “I don’t think it’s for me to say. The people elected him; they should have their say,” Holguin said.

Do you mean all 8,600 of them? They’ve all gone back to the cities they live in.

Trustee Harold “Rick” Sayre called it “a sad day for Moreno Valley, the city and the school district.” He accorded Rios “the presumption of innocence. We need to let the system take its course. Nonetheless, getting yourself involved in such an accusation is beyond belief.”

Another way of Sayre saying… ‘I got you, I got you! Ha Ha’

Moreno Valley Police Chief John Anderson said the arrest and the incident were unrelated to Rios’ school board duties “This has nothing to do with his elected status,” Anderson said. “We have to look at the evidence and handle this just like any other case.”

CONFLICTING STORIES

Rios called police about 2:20 a.m. Monday, Anderson said Tuesday, speaking while the investigation was in its initial stages. Police said Rios told officers he had been involved in an argument with two men at the Bahama Mama’s nightclub on Sunnymead Boulevard in Moreno Valley. Police do not know what sparked the argument.

Rios said he drove to his home in the 25700 block of Palm Shadows Drive, and the men followed him, police said. Rios claimed one of the men pulled a gun and shot at him outside his house, then the men sped away in a compact sedan. Exclusive film footage to come!

HEY! That’s what Mike Rios did to me just prior to the November 2010 Board election. He was driving a silver Toyota pickup registered to Victoria Baca. Luckily I spotted him following me and lost him in Riverside. He might have shot at me too, alledgedly!

Officers arrived at Rios’ home minutes after he called 911. They searched the area but could not find any suspects or the vehicle Rios described.

Moreno Valley detectives later interviewed the two men Rios had described and processed their vehicle for evidence, including bullet holes, Anderson said Thursday. Neither of the men was arrested. Did anybody (read any reporter) bother to get their names? Or their statements? Police said evidence and interviews with nightclub patrons and neighbors who witnessed the shooting contradicted Rios’ version of the story.

Anderson said police believe the two men did go to Rios’ home, but that he fired at them. Officers conducted a second interview with Rios on Thursday morning, and he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and witness intimidation or persuasion, according to jail records. Anderson said he was not aware of what led to the accusation of witness intimidation or persuasion. Police may explore whether Rios filed a false police report, Anderson said.

DIVISIVE FIGURE

Rios, who calls himself “the people’s candidate,” was the top vote-getter in an eight-person race in November 2010 for three seats on the school board.

His win followed a 2008 loss to Robin Hastings for a City Council seat.

He has said that he wanted to challenge Hastings this November, but through redistricting he now lives in an area represented by Mayor Richard Stewart. That seat won’t be on the ballot for another two years, a move Rios has called political and unfair.

Since his election to the school board, Rios has been harshly criticized for flip-flopping on issues and making outlandish statements in public. But he has ardent supporters, as well. Harold Rick Sayre, with whom Rios has clashed on the board, said he doesn’t put much credence in Rios’ statements. “You never get a straight answer out of him,” Sayre said. “Sometimes it’s hard to know if he’s telling the truth.” Unfortunately many district employees say the same about Sayre. Besides, Sayre can’t comprehend the meaning of “credence.”


 Thanks again reader Marion!

Former MVUSD board trustee Victoria Baca called his arrest “embarrassing” to the city. Who would know better than Victoria when it comes to embarrassing the city, the school district, Telemundo, voters, etc, by being arrested for a dangerously asinine  publicity stunt.

Tom Jerele Sr., who said he is a close family friend, was upset upon hearing of Rios’ arrest. “Unbelievable,” he gasped. He said Rios has never lied to him and he had no idea Rios even had a gun. Jerele said he’s concerned about Rios’ two children at home, a daughter, 11, and a son, 17. He has two older children as well. “This is very sad for the family,” Jerele said. “I’m praying for him.” Rios’ wife, Dora Landaverde-Torres, is also in jail, facing deportation to her native El Salvador. She has been held by federal immigration officials in Santa Ana since her arrest in September during a nationwide operation focusing on convicted criminal aliens. She was convicted of a felony drug charge and deported in the 1990s. Landaverde-Torres’ attorneys are seeking to reopen her deportation case.


I'll bet Pacheco is happy about this...