Arrest made in 2004 killing of Hemet teenager

An arrest has been made in a decades-old cold case involving the 2004 murder of a Hemet teenager.

James Landi, 43, was taken into custody Friday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Landi had been identified as a person of interest in the murder of 18-year-old Reynoldo Burts, but investigators didn’t have enough evidence at the time to make an arrest, and the case went cold.

The case was reviewed in August of this year, which identified new leads and the case was reopened.

Landi is accused of killing Burts, whose body was found by a hiker in the hills near Southfork Trail and Highway 74 in Idyllwild more than two decades ago. He is now facing a murder charge and being held at the Cois Byrd Detention Center.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to contact Master Investigator Darryl Robertson or Deputy Andrew Lucifora of the Central Homicide Unit at (951) 955-2777.