Boy, 4, Slain in Dispute at Home

A 4-year-old boy preparing to take his bicycle outside for a ride was shot and killed when an argument between his mother’s friends erupted in gunfire, authorities said Thursday.

The boy, whose name was not immediately released, was shot in the side of his face and neck and died at his home in the unincorporated High Grove area, Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Perri Feinstein-Portales said.

Paramedics were called but “there was nothing that anyone could do to save this poor little boy’s life,” she said. “We do anticipate arrests.”

Two men also wounded during the dispute were taken to hospitals, but their injuries were not considered life-threatening, the sergeant said.

Peter Ledesma, 30, of Riverside, was found on a sofa in the home, and Joe Armenta, 23, of High Grove was found about two blocks away, she said.

“They are friends of the mother who were in the backyard at the time the shooting occurred,” but the extent of their involvement in the shooting was unclear, the sergeant said.

The boy’s mother, Lori Monteleon, 29, called 911 to report the shooting and was “distraught and hysterical” when deputies arrived shortly before 11:30 a.m., Feinstein-Portales said.