Garden Grove : Anaheim Man Shot by Ex-Neighbor, Arrested

Jose Luis Mendez and Carlos Ochoa Luna didn’t get along very well when they were neighbors in Anaheim, and the feud apparently continued after Luna and his family moved to Garden Grove.

On Sunday, according to Garden Grove Police Sgt. Bruce Beauchamp, Luna, 30, shot his former neighbor with a rifle at least four times after Mendez, 22, threatened him with a pistol.

Mendez suffered gunshot wounds to his leg, jaw, shoulder, and chest, Beauchamp said. He was treated at UCI Medical Center in Orange and booked into the jail ward on suspicion of attempted burglary and brandishing a weapon in a threatening manner. He was listed in serious condition Monday.

“Although the incident is still under investigation, right now there are no charges against Luna,” Beauchamp said.

The shooting took place at Luna’s Haster Street apartment, where he began receiving harassing phone calls from Mendez on Sunday, Beauchamp said. The calls, he said, were “threatening, challenging, that kind of thing, according to Luna.”

Luna eventually took his phone off the hook to stop the calls.

But late Sunday night, Luna heard strange noises from his patio, went to take a look, and heard a gunshot, he told police. Neighbors also reported hearing the gunshot, Beauchamp said.

Police said Luna then got his .22-caliber rifle, looked out his glass patio door, and saw a man believed to be Mendez in his yard, carrying a .25-caliber automatic pistol. Luna went outside and told Mendez to leave, but the Anaheim man refused, pointing his pistol at Luna and threatening him, police said.