A 26-year-old man in Riverside County has been arrested in connection with a cold-case murder from 2019, officials announced Monday.
In Nov. 2019, Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies assigned to the Perris Station to reports of a shooting in the 700 block of East 7th Street.
At the scene, authorities discovered three people suffering from gunshot wounds, two of whom were rushed to the hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The third victim, 22-year-old Perris resident Santiago Diaz, was declared dead at the scene.
“Investigators assigned to the Riverside Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit responded and assumed the investigation,” a RCSD news release stated. “Unfortunately, after extensive investigation, the case went cold without an arrest.”
Central homicide detectives began looking at the case again in late 2024 and, after identifying new evidence, reopened the investigation, authorities said.
While the sheriff’s investigators did not outline their methods, they said Perris resident Jeremy Whittle was identified as a suspect in the murder.
“On March 27, 2025, Whittle was arrested for his involvement in this murder and later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center,” the release stated.
Due to the ongoing investigation, no additional details were provided.
Anyone with information about this investigation is urged to contact Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Master Investigator S. Denham or Master Investigator V. Magana of the Central Homicide Unit at 951-955-2772.
