California Pastor Accused of Hiring Hitmen to Target Daughter’s Boyfriend”

A pastor leading a church in Victorville, California, faces allegations of orchestrating a plot to have his daughter’s boyfriend killed. Identified as Samuel Pasillas, aged 47, the clergyman reportedly paid a hefty sum of $40,000 to have the man eliminated.

Riverside Police Department disclosed that Pasillas provided detailed information about the boyfriend to the hired individuals, who subsequently shot him during a drive-by incident in October 2023.

Despite sustaining multiple gunshot wounds, the victim managed to drive himself to a nearby hospital, surviving the attack. Investigators uncovered evidence linking Pasillas to the hired hitmen, asserting that he disapproved of his daughter’s relationship with the victim.

Officer Ryan Railsback of the Riverside Police revealed, “He actually provided information to these suspects that he hired. He paid them almost $40,000.” The suspects conducted surveillance on the victim for weeks before carrying out the shooting, allegedly with Pasillas providing further details on the target’s whereabouts.

Recently, Riverside police arrested Pasillas and one of the alleged hitmen, Juan Manuel Cebreros, aged 55, from Long Beach. Another suspect, Jesus Abel Felix Garcia, remains at large. Pasillas and Cebreros pleaded not guilty during a joint arraignment on March 18 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Both individuals are currently held in custody at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside, each on a $1 million bail. They are scheduled to appear for a felony settlement conference on March 26.