Rancho family gatherings turn deadly

Man shot dead in apparent gang retaliation
By Jason Newell, Staff Writer


RANCHO CUCAMONGA - A flurry of gunfire erupted outside two large family celebrations Monday night, leaving one man dead, another injured and several cars damaged with broken windows and bullet holes.

Simote Manatau, a 22-year-old Salt Lake City man in town for a family reunion, was gunned down when a pickup truck pulled up and at least one occupant sprayed the street with bullets around 10:20 p.m., sheriff's officials and witnesses said.
He was pronounced dead at San Antonio Community Hospital an hour later, a coroner's statement said. A relative, Rancho Cucamonga resident Tuuhetoka Sekona Jr., 18, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was treated at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.

"They were walking for a smoke on the sidewalk," Fina Tuutau, Manatau's sister, said Tuesday, sitting on a lawn with family members just yards from where the shooting happened. "(Manatau) didn't even know anyone out here."

The shootings, apparently gang-related, came after an argument broke out between people attending the two separate celebrations, held across the road from each other in the 7900 block of Hyssop Street, witnesses said.

Manatau's family had been celebrating a family reunion at Lake Perris for several days and had just returned to the Rancho Cucamonga home for one last night of partying, Tuutau said.
Across the street, another family was holding a large funeral event.

At some point during the night, a verbal argument began between some of the attendees at both parties, sheriff's officials said. A sheriff's spokeswoman did not know what provoked the argument.

Witnesses said fighting initially broke out around 8 p.m., with as many as 40 people brawling in the street. By the time several sheriff's deputies arrived in cars, on motorcycles and a helicopter, much of the fighting had dispersed, witnesses said.

One neighbor familiar with the families said members of a local gang had become upset that some Ontario gang members were in their turf to attend the funeral event.

A couple of hours later, some of the Ontario men returned in a pickup truck, witnesses said. Neighbors reported hearing several rapid-fire shots, followed by loud screams.

"I guess they were mad because of the fight, and they wanted to retaliate," said a woman who attended the funeral event. "My understanding is that they were shooting even at older people who were not involved."

"All you could hear them say was `Crack the windows. Crack the windows of the car,' " said the woman, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation.

Windows on several cars lining the street were smashed. Bullet holes pierced several of the vehicles.

Sheriff's deputies responded and located the two victims. Detectives remained on the street until early afternoon Tuesday, examining evidence and speaking with witnesses.

No suspects had been identified Tuesday, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.

One neighbor who asked not to be identified said she feared gang violence would escalate in the neighborhood.

"It's just going to get worse now," she said. "They're going to retaliate and someone else is going to end up dead."

Another neighbor, John Lyons, said he knew both families and was shocked by what had happened.

"I've lived here 31 years, and we have not had this type of violence ever in this tract," he said. "They've had hundreds of gatherings and this kind of thing has never happened before."