Crime & Safety

Men Plead Guilty in Connection to Shotgun Murder

Peter and Paul Soto offered their pleas days before the start of their trial. The men faced charges in a 2008 homicide.

Two brothers pleaded guilty Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court in connection with a May 2008 slaying of a Redlands man.

Peter Soto, 24, pleaded guilty to first degree murder before San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Annemarie Pace. He will be sentenced to 29-years-to-life, according to Redlands Police officials.

His brother Paul Soto, 22, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will be sentenced to seven years, police officials said.

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The men were accused in the shooting death of 48-year-old Ricky Dean Davis. A jury had been selected and trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday when they offered to change their pleas to guilty pleas.

Davis was found at Jennie Davis Park about 1:30 p.m. May 3, 2008, at the corner of New York Street and Redlands Boulevard, police said. He had been fatally wounded by a shotgun blast.

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According to witnesses, Davis was shot following a verbal fight with two men in the park. Investigators said the confrontation was over Davis' dog running loose in the park.

Peter Soto felt “disrespected” by Davis in front of his brother and 7-month-old daughter, so he and Paul Soto retrieved a shotgun and returned to the park to confront Davis, investigators said.

Paul Soto confronted Davis with a knife as Peter Soto shot the victim in the head, officials said. The men then fled south through the park and down New York Street to their apartment. Officers, who witnessed one of the men go into their apartment, set up a perimeter around the building.

The brothers surrendered some three hours later. Police recovered the gun at the apartment. Sgt. Stephen Crane and Sgt. Mike Reiss, conducted the initial interviews with the suspects.


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