Marine deserter executes Navy Corpsman as she returns home in uniform

Oceanside, CA – A man who had been previously arrested for deserting the Marine Corps was arraigned for murder on Tuesday.

Eduardo Arriola, 25, is accused of killing his downstairs neighbor, 24-year-old Devon Rideout, a Navy Corpsman.

Prosecutors say Arriola “ambushed” Rideout while she was still in uniform taking her dog for a walk last Friday afternoon.  Prosecutors say he shot her twice in the torso and once in the head as she was a few steps out of her apartment.

Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe said he believed Arriola purchased the .38 Smith and Wesson handgun from a local gun store that apparently did not have access to his military records or know of his history of mental illness.

Investigators are still trying to determine a motive. They say Arriola and Rideout did not know each other, but they did find Rideout’s name radiator of Arriola’s car, according to NBC.

“They looked into the engine compartment and written on the radiator tank in his engine compartment was the victim’s name, along with two other people’s names, with the words ‘rest in peace,’” said Deputy District Attorney Keith Watanabe

“This was a heinous shooting committed in broad daylight in front of witnesses,” Watanabe said. “The defendant had to have been lying in wait because the victim only made it a few steps out her front door when she was gunned down.”

Prosecutors said Arriola deserted the Marine Corps in 2016 and fled to Mexico. When he returned to the states he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and discharged in 2017.

He could face the death penalty if convicted.

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