Owner of Restaurant Chain Shot to Death
The owner of a chain of Mexican restaurants in Los Angeles and Orange counties, once indicted in Hawaii as a drug smuggler but never tried, was shot to death early Thursday as he drove through his expensive neighborhood west of Upper Newport Bay.
Orange County sheriff’s investigators said “several” shots were fired at Joe Luis Avila, 40, of Costa Mesa. Avila’s family owns the El Ranchito restaurant chain.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. May 9, 1987 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday May 9, 1987 Orange County Edition Metro Part 2 Page 2 Column 5 Metro Desk 2 inches; 57 words Type of Material: Correction
The ownership of a La Habra restaurant was incorrectly described in an article Friday about the death of Joe Luis Avila, who, along with members of his family, owned units in the El Ranchito restaurant chain. A restaurant that once was owned by an Avila family member, in La Habra, is now owned by Ricardo Meeks. The Avila family no longer has an interest in the restaurant, which now is named Ricardo’s El Ranchito.
“We realize that drugs are the primary deal here, but we’re looking at it from a little broader aspect that I can’t talk about,” said Chief Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. James Enright.
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