Santa Ana : 2 Neighbors’ Quarrel Ends in Fatal Shooting
A longstanding neighborhood feud erupted into a fatal shooting Saturday night when a Santa Ana man stringing up Christmas decorations was shot by a neighbor, police said.
“There had been kind of a long-running battle between the two neighbors for quite some time,” Police Sgt. Art Echternacht said.
Witnesses said an argument broke out about 5:45 p.m. as Gilberto Griego, 44, of 310 S. Franklin St. suspended his Christmas decorating and went over to talk to Leopoldo Corza, 55, of 314 S. Franklin.
Corza presently produced a .38-caliber revolver from his waistband and shot Griego twice in the chest, Echternacht said.
Griego died about eight hours later at UCI Medical Center, and charges against Corza were upgraded from attempted murder to murder.
Police said they have no information on what the argument was about. “According to witnesses and neighbors, Corza and Griego argued with each other every time they saw each other, and on this occasion it escalated into a shooting,” Echternacht said.
Corza was being held on $250,000 bail, an amount that Echternacht said is likely to be increased with the pressing of more serious charges.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
