Costa Mesa : Man Is Shot in Torso at Party; Suspect Held

A Costa Mesa man was hospitalized after he was shot in the torso outside a Sunday night party that he and his alleged assailant were attending, police said.

Ambrosio Rodriguez, 27, was listed in serious but stable condition Monday at Costa Mesa Medical Center Hospital, according to Sgt. Walter Silver. Although police had a suspect in custody, they were unsure of the motive for the shooting.

Rodriguez had been shot once in the torso just after he left the party in the 2100 block of Thurin Street. The suspect left the scene before officers arrived, but others at the party gave police his name and a possible address, police said.

At that address, in an unincorporated area just outside Compton, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and Compton police officers saw a car that matched the description of the suspect’s green Mercury sedan.

Detectives from Costa Mesa arrived to arrest Salvador Lopez Salgado, 22, on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. “A handgun was found in the residence that may be the same one used in the assault,” Silver said.

Salgado was questioned at Costa Mesa City Jail, where he was being held Monday in lieu of $250,000 bail. “The detectives talked to Salgado and didn’t get anything out of him,” said Lt. Rick Johnson. “They changed the charge to attempted murder.”