Manuel Mukes IV, a 23-year-old Black man from the New Orleans area, was the son of two pastors and one of six children. His family described him as a source of motivation and strength. In August 2019, he was in Southern California to return a car and was scheduled to fly home in two days, but he never made it back.
In the early morning of August 18, 2019, a confrontation occurred in downtown Riverside’s entertainment district as local bars and nightclubs were closing.
Shortly after 2 a.m., Manuel was found with a gunshot wound near the intersection of Mission Inn Avenue and Orange Street. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died a few hours later.
The Riverside Police Department’s investigation led them to a suspect in Los Angeles. On September 6, 2019, detectives, with the help of a SWAT team, arrested 22-year-old Daniel Keith Bowman for the murder. An associate of Bowman’s, 25-year-old Deshean Jackson of Carson, was also arrested around the same time for a parole violation as part of the homicide investigation, though his specific role was not disclosed.
Bowman was charged with murder, along with sentence-enhancing allegations for using a gun. During a court hearing, a judge denied him bail, calling him a danger to the community. Prosecutors noted that the gun used in the shooting had not been found and that Bowman was an admitted member of a criminal street gang. Both Bowman and Jackson were held in custody without bail.
On October 14, 2025, a Riverside County jury convicted Daniel Keith Bowman of the first-degree murder of Manuel Mukes. The jury also found true two sentencing enhancements: that Bowman personally used a firearm causing great bodily injury and that he committed the murder to benefit a criminal street gang. These enhancements could add 35 years to life to his prison sentence.
As of October 2025, Bowman was awaiting his sentencing, which was scheduled for November 21, 2025.
