1993 Newport Beach shooting/murder: Ontario vs Santa Ana Gang Members

Pier Shooting Leaves 1 Dead, 1 Wounded : Violence: The Newport Beach incident occurred during an argument between gangs from Santa Ana and Ontario, police say. One suspect is being held.

August 01, 1993|JEFFREY A. PERLMAN | TIMES STAFF WRITER



NEWPORT BEACH — One man was killed and another wounded early Saturday at the Newport Beach pier during an argument between gangs from Santa Ana and Ontario, police said.

It was the third homicide in this seaside community this year. There were none last year, although a similar shooting a year ago near the pier injured two people.


In Saturday's shooting, Enrique Morales, 18, of the Ontario-based "Ontario Sur" gang, was arrested on suspicion of murder as he tried to leave the parking lot next to the pier, police Sgt. Andy Gonis said. Morales was in a pickup carrying four others from his Ontario-based gang, the sergeant said.

Morales remained in custody Saturday at the Newport Beach Jail.

Police identified the slain victim as Jorge Rico, 32, of Santa Ana.

The wounded man, Jose Ceja, 23, of Garden Grove, was being treated at a hospital, Gonis said. He would not name the hospital for safety reasons. Ceja and Rico were among 15 people in a 40-foot rented limousine.

The shooting took place near the bathrooms and "we think it was a coincidence that they were there at the same time, and that the meeting wasn't set up," Gonis said.

Shots rang out about 1:30 a.m. in the circular courtyard at the foot of the pier, preceded by a "brief encounter," he said.

"The lot is busy at that time of night because the bars haven't closed yet," Gonis said. "The beach draws a lot of people, but we had no previous contacts or incidents with these particular groups."

He said several firearms were seized, but police declined to describe them.

Police on Saturday questioned potential witnesses and were a noticeable presence on the beachfront.

About 1 p.m. Saturday, with the beach crowded with sunbathers and the parking lot full, three officers stopped several motorists for questioning. A 40-foot black limousine was halted and emptied of its 10 passengers, some of whom were ticketed for poking their heads through the vehicle's sunroof and waving red bandannas.

Officer John Joyce said it was a routine traffic stop unrelated to the shooting.

Joyce said there has not been any noticeable increase in violence recently.

"We have a high percentage of bars here," he said. "I think we have six within a two-block area. Mostly we get alcohol-related crime--driving under the influence, drunk in public, some types of gang activity, especially since the extension of the (Costa Mesa) freeway is now sending more people down this way."

The last major violence, Joyce said, was a double shooting on July 4, 1992, near the same spot.

At Blackie's by the Sea, an establishment not far from Saturday's early-morning gunfire, patrons crowded the bar. "We don't see this type of thing, except for last year's incident, which happened right out in front here," manager Les Bobbitt said. "But it's getting worse every year. . . . Gangs are coming into the area."

Jose Navarro, a Camp Pendleton Marine, said he sees gang members occasionally but does not think much about them. "Frankly," he said, "they're usually just out in the water, swimming--it doesn't bother me."


Cindy Becker of Highland, near San Bernardino, stood in the circular courtyard at the foot of the pier, where four small, orange-painted circles marked the spots where police found shell casings from Saturday's shooting.

"I hadn't heard anything about a murder," said Becker, who visits on weekends and each August brings her children for a few weeks to a rented house two blocks away.

"We didn't know about the shooting last year either," she said. "All of this makes me real worried."

Suspect in Newport Pier Slaying Released From Jail : Investigation: District attorney concludes that the 18-year-old man, whom police say is an Ontario gang member, has not been identified as the gunman.

August 03, 1993|LEN HALL | TIMES STAFF WRITER



NEWPORT BEACH — A man arrested on suspicion of murder after a gunfight between rival gangs at the Newport Pier was released from jail Sunday because of a lack of evidence against him, officials said Monday.

Enrique Morales, 18, who police say is a member of an Ontario gang, remains a suspect in the shootings that killed one man and wounded another, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Gary Paer.


"He's still a suspect, and so are some other people. No one has been exonerated," said Paer, who works on the county's juvenile gang unit. "Right now, the state of the case is there isn't enough to file (charges) on this guy. There's still a lot of stuff to be done on this case."

Morales was arrested while riding in a pickup truck in a parking lot about a block from the pier shortly after the 1:30 a.m. shootings Saturday. Morales was identified as one of five members of an Ontario gang who confronted a group of Santa Ana gang members at the foot of the pier, Paer said.

"He was identified as having been present" during the confrontation but not necessarily as the shooter, Paer said.

Jorge Rico, 32, of Santa Ana, was killed during the shootings. Jose Ceja, 23, of Garden Grove, was critically wounded and remains in a local hospital, which police are not identifying for security reasons, said Sgt. Andy Gonis of the Newport Beach Police Department.

Gonis said police investigators believe the two groups of gang members did not plan to meet in Newport Beach but happened to run into each other at a circular courtyard about 50 feet from the bathrooms at the foot of the pier. About 10 members of the Santa Ana gang had been traveling in a rented black 40-foot stretch limousine after attending a concert and stopped at the pier to use the bathroom, police said.

The Santa Ana gang members were confronted by five to 10 Ontario gang members, including Morales, and words were exchanged, police said. Minutes later, the Ontario gang members opened fire and Rico and Ceja were each hit several times.

"We still don't know what caused the shooting," Gonis said.

Newport Beach police officers stopped the truck at gunpoint and arrested Morales without further incident, Gonis said. Several weapons were seized, but Gonis would not say which group was carrying them.

"There is a possibility that additional subjects and another vehicle were involved," Gonis added.

Gonis said the decision not to file charges was made by the county district attorney's office.

"We made the arrest because we had probable cause," Gonis said. "In this case, it was their opinion not to file any charges. We were in the position that we no longer had enough evidence to hold him."

The homicide was the third in Newport Beach this year. There were none last year, although two people were wounded in a similar shooting at the pier.

Good find cutty that shit was a hella good read.

I was also in OVS hood today lol lot of driving for work but was on Nocta and Monterey. Looked pretty active but lots of residents looking peaceful too. You get that traditional varrio feel over there like its safe.

Also my cat from C9 has been living near 4 th street hood for a bit and he posted a Facebook comment about all his 9's "c careful" because the snacks are out thicc. So I know the c9's are still around but maybe not as deep as 4th street. They are somewhere on east Ontario now...but at first they claimed north Ontario...any one know why they changed? I keep hearing that nso is non active but when I drove down calaveras street it looked hood and even saw a few chica cholo women looked kind of like tweezers and where's there's tweekers there's bangers no?