A felon accused of gunning down a 30-year-old Mead Valley man was charged Wednesday with murder and other offenses.

Raul Joe Varela, 51, of Turlock, was arrested Sunday following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.

Along with murder, Varela is charged with sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations.

He made his initial court appearance Wednesday before Superior Court Judge Gary Polk, who appointed him a public defender and set his arraignment for Thursday at the Riverside Hall of Justice.

Varela is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Robert Presley Jail.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Lance Stoyer, the defendant allegedly killed Giovanni Martinez in the area of Elizabeth and Woodward streets in Mead Valley shortly before 9 p.m. Thursday.

Stoye

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