Trial scheduled for Patterson man’s shooting death in Modesto

A judge has scheduled a trial to start April 1 for a defendant charged with murder in the 2011 shooting of a Patterson man in west Modesto.

Authorities say Juan Manuel Tello, 29, is responsible for the shooting death of Robert Ruvalcaba. The 38-year-old man was found dead in an alley.

Tello was arrested about a month after the shooting and remains in custody at the Stanislaus County jail.

Superior Court Judge Ricardo Córdova also scheduled Tello to return to court March 9 for a pretrial hearing.

Ruvalcaba’s body was found Dec. 16, 2011, in the alley near North Martin Luther King Drive and Linden Street. Witnesses told police they heard gunshots and spotted the man on the ground in the alley.

This story was originally published November 26, 2014 at 12:14 PM with the headline "Trial scheduled for Patterson man’s shooting death in Modesto."