Christopher Self is a California death row inmate convicted of three murders and more than a dozen other violent felonies committed with his older brother, Orlando Gene Romero, during a two-month crime spree across Riverside County in the fall of 1992. He was 18 at the time of the crimes and 21 when a Riverside County jury returned a death verdict against him. He was formally sentenced to death on August 28, 1996, and the California Supreme Court largely upheld that sentence in 2015.1Justia. People v. Romero, S055856
The 1992 Crime Spree
Between October and December 1992, Self and Romero carried out more than a dozen violent crimes in western Riverside County’s Mead Valley area and surrounding communities. They were frequently joined by Jose Munoz, and occasionally by a fourth participant, Daniel Ray Chavez. The spree included armed robberies, carjackings, kidnappings, four attempted murders, and three killings.2FindLaw. People v. Romero
Joey Mans and Timothy Jones
In the early hours of October 12, 1992, the brothers encountered Joey Mans, 26, and Timothy Kipp Jones, 24, at a hilltop area near Lake Mathews. Romero ordered both men out of their car at gunpoint, forced Mans to lie on the ground, and shot him in the back. When the gun malfunctioned as Romero aimed at Jones, the brothers chased him down a hill. Self beat Jones with his fists and a pipe, then shot him four times. A helicopter patrol discovered the bodies, and investigators recovered .22 caliber shell casings and a distinctive BK shoe impression at the scene.2FindLaw. People v. Romero3Oxygen. Orlando Romero Christopher Self Go on California Crime Spree
Jose Aragon
On November 25, 1992, Jose Aragon, a 22-year-old college student from Redlands, was practicing motorcycle stunts in San Timoteo Canyon near Beaumont when Self, Romero, and Munoz approached him. After engaging him in conversation, Self shot him. Romero placed Aragon in the bed of his own pickup truck, and the group demanded his ATM PIN. Self then fired repeatedly at Aragon’s ribs. An autopsy determined he had been shot eleven times, with one bullet entering his chin and exiting through his motorcycle helmet. A detective later said the assailants “played with him before they killed him” and taunted him by asking, “Does it burn? How does it feel to be shot?” The group withdrew $300 from Aragon’s account using his ATM card.2FindLaw. People v. Romero3Oxygen. Orlando Romero Christopher Self Go on California Crime Spree
The Surviving Victims
Several people survived attacks that could have been fatal. On October 22, 1992, Self shot Kenneth Mills in the face while Mills and Vicky Ewy were driving to observe lightning; Mills permanently lost vision in his right eye but managed to steer their vehicle onto a golf cart path and escape. Four days later, Munoz and Self attacked Randolph Rankins and Paulita Williams; Williams suffered multiple stab wounds, bullet wounds, and a punctured lung.2FindLaw. People v. Romero
The attack that would prove pivotal for the investigation came on November 30, 1992. Sgt. John Feltenberger, an off-duty Ontario Police officer driving his red Geo Metro through Moreno Valley around 4:00 a.m., was carjacked by Self and Munoz. Despite Feltenberger’s compliance, Munoz repeatedly told Self to “Kill him.” Self said, “I ought to shoot you,” and fired a sawed-off shotgun into Feltenberger’s chest. Feltenberger suffered a collapsed lung and spent three days in intensive care. He survived.1Justia. People v. Romero, S055856
Other victims across the spree were carjacked, kidnapped, or robbed at gunpoint, including William Meredith, Alfred Steenblock, Albert Knoefler, Jerry Mills Sr. and Jerry Mills Jr., Robert Greer, and Roger Beliveau.2FindLaw. People v. Romero
How the Brothers Were Caught
The case broke on ATM surveillance footage. After Aragon’s card was used, Munoz was captured on camera making a withdrawal. Investigators identified him, and during interrogation he gave a statement that led police to Romero and Self. Forensic evidence tied the crimes together: a piece of red plastic recovered from Feltenberger’s wound matched material from a BRI 20-gauge sabot shotgun round found in Aragon’s body.2FindLaw. People v. Romero3Oxygen. Orlando Romero Christopher Self Go on California Crime Spree4Los Angeles Times. Arrests in Connection With Riverside Murders
Trial and Death Sentence
Self and Romero were tried jointly in Riverside County Superior Court, case number CR46579, before separate juries. Each was convicted of 19 felony counts, including three counts of first-degree murder for the killings of Mans, Jones, and Aragon. Self was additionally convicted of four counts of willful, deliberate, and premeditated attempted murder for the attacks on Kenneth Mills, Paulita Williams, Randolph Rankins, and Sgt. Feltenberger. Both defendants were convicted of multiple robberies, kidnapping for robbery, burglary, vandalism, shooting at an occupied vehicle, and mayhem of Kenneth Mills.2FindLaw. People v. Romero
The prosecution relied on the testimony of Jose Munoz, who had pleaded guilty and received 51 years to life; recorded interrogations in which Self admitted shooting Feltenberger and taking his car; identifications by surviving victims; and ballistics and physical evidence including the sabot shotgun rounds and stolen property recovered from the defendants. Neither defendant put on evidence during the guilt phase.1Justia. People v. Romero, S055856
Both juries found true robbery-murder and multiple-murder special-circumstance allegations, making both defendants eligible for the death penalty. Each jury returned a death verdict, and the trial court entered judgments of death on August 28, 1996.2FindLaw. People v. Romero5CDCR. Condemned Inmate Orlando Romero Dies
The 2015 California Supreme Court Ruling
Because California requires an automatic appeal from every death sentence, the case went directly to the California Supreme Court. On August 27, 2015, the court issued its decision in People v. Romero, No. S055856, largely upholding the convictions and death sentences of both brothers.1Justia. People v. Romero, S055856
The court made two modifications. It reversed Self’s conviction and sentence for the robbery of Albert Knoefler, finding that the accomplice testimony supporting that count was not sufficiently corroborated. It also vacated five multiple-murder special-circumstance findings for each defendant, ruling that the trial court had erroneously instructed the juries to make two such findings per murder count. The court called the instructional error harmless because the juries knew how many murders had been committed. The three murder convictions and both death sentences stood.6Press-Enterprise. State Supreme Court Upholds Brothers’ Death Sentences
Where Christopher Self Is Now
Orlando Romero entered San Quentin State Prison’s death row on September 4, 1996. He died on August 2, 2020, at age 48, at a hospital outside San Quentin from complications of COVID-19, during the facility’s outbreak that summer.5CDCR. Condemned Inmate Orlando Romero Dies7NBC Bay Area. San Quentin Death Row Inmate Dies of COVID-19 Complications
Christopher Self remains under a sentence of death in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In early 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the dismantling of San Quentin’s death row, and by May 2024 all condemned inmates previously housed in the East Block had been transferred to general population units at other state prisons. The transfers did not alter sentences or convictions.8CDCR. Condemned Inmate Transfer Program9Los Angeles Times. California to Transfer San Quentin Death Row Prisoners to Other Prisons California has not carried out an execution since 2006, and Newsom imposed a moratorium on executions in 2019. As of October 2025, CDCR reported 580 incarcerated people with condemned sentences in its custody.