A former Marine killed his neighbor after she came home from work and took her dog out for a walk, a San Diego County prosecutor alleged in court July 24, 2018.
Eduardo Arriola, 25, made his first appearance in court on Tuesday. Sheriff’s records describe Arriola as 5 feet 7 inches tall and 200 pounds. He is held without bail.
Arriola pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, which could mean life in prison without parole, or the death penalty, if he is ultimately found guilty.
Prosecutor Keith Watanabe said 24-year-old Devon Christian Rideout came home “after a hard day’s work” on July 20, 2018, and quickly took her new puppy out of her apartment for a walk. “She only made it a few steps outside of her door,” the prosecutor said.
Rideout was a Navy Corpsman who worked on nearby Camp Pendleton, and was still in her military uniform when she was confronted by a man who lived upstairs, the prosecutor alleged.
Arriola emptied his five-shot Smith&Wesson revolver into his victim, according to Sheriff’s detective Brent Keys. The detective said the victim suffered three shots to her torso and two to her head. Rideout was declared deceased on the scene.
According to the prosecutor, Arriola told first responders, “I used lethal force because she was trespassing.”
The deadly assault happened “in broad daylight” on a Friday afternoon after 3 p.m., in front of multiple witnesses, according to prosecutor Watanabe. Bystanders who moved to help the gasping woman were prevented by the shooter, the prosecutor said.
Rideout was “truly an innocent victim,” the prosecutor said. She had worked as a Navy Corpsman for five years and was going to school to become an
