Pastor Paid Hitman 50g For Strange Reason

A Riverside, Calif. father and pastor has been arrested on multiple charges for allegedly hiring a hitman to kill his daughter’s boyfriend. 

On the evening of Oct. 21, 2023, an unidentified male was shot several times but has since recovered from his injuries. An investigation found that 47-year-old Samuel Pasillas had conducted a murder-for-hire plot to kill the man, according to a Riverside County Police Department press release.

“The male adult victim stated he was driving on Grove Community Drive approaching Plainview Street when another vehicle pulled up alongside him,” the press release read. “Gunfire came from this other vehicle and he was struck several times. The victim drove himself to the hospital and was treated for his injuries, and officers located evidence of a shooting on Grove Community Drive and Plainview Street.”

At the time, Pasillas was known to be a pastor at a local Spanish-speaking church in Victorville, Calif. and the father of the victim’s girlfriend.

“Detectives uncovered evidence the father met with the men he hired and provided them information about the victim, including his location the evening of the shooting,” a press release read. “Detectives also determined these men were paid almost $40,000 by the father and had conducted surveillance on the victim in the weeks leading up to when they shot him.”

Police also conducted search warrants for Victorville, Long Beach, and Lynwood homes relating to the crime.

On March 13, Pasillas was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for solicitation for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon. 

One of the alleged hitmen, 55-year-old Juan Manuel Cebreros, who was also booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault with a deadly weapon. 

Both men are being held on $1 million bond, and it is unclear if more arrests are going to be made.

The investigation is still ongoing.