Hired assassin kills man sleeping next to his girlfriend, California police say

An intruder shot a 27-year-old man dead as he slept next to his girlfriend in a murder-for-hire plot, California police reported.

Officers found Horacio Montero Jr. of Riverside suffering from gunshot wounds in a trailer at a Riverside automotive repair business at about 4:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 29, police said in a Tuesday, Oct. 7, news release.

His girlfriend, who was not harmed, called police after the shooting as Montero lay next to her, Officer Ryan Railsback, spokesman for the Riverside Police Department, told McClatchy News in an email.

Montero died of his injuries at a hospital, police said.

Investigators later arrested Kenny Andrew Johnson, 40, of Riverside and Alonzo Jeffery Monk Jr., 43, of Colton, police said.

“What our detectives learned through their investigation is they believe that Kenny Johnson had hired Alonzo Monk Jr. to commit this murder,” Railsback told KABC. Johnson knew Montero, but Monk did not.

Both face charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, police said.

An investigation into the motive for the murder-for-hire plot continues, Railsback said.

Riverside is about a 55-mile drive east from Los Angeles.

This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Hired assassin kills man sleeping next to his girlfriend, California police say."