Local News in Brief : Costa Mesa : 2 Arrested in Threat to Potential Witness

Two gang members, one a juvenile and the other an adult, were arrested after threatening a 15-year-old who was scheduled to be a witness at a gang-shooting trial, authorities said Wednesday.

Santos Manuel Lopez, 20, of Costa Mesa was arrested Wednesday, and a 17-year-old Back Bay High School student was arrested Tuesday. Both were taken into custody on suspicion of dissuading a witness by threat, a felony, Costa Mesa Police Sgt. Ron Smith said.

The 15-year-old was “approached in person by an adult and a juvenile male who said they were Blood gang members out of Santa Ana,” Smith said. “They threatened him with physical harm if he appeared to testify against their fellow Bloods.”

The teen-ager did not have to testify at the Tuesday trial because the two gang members eventually pleaded guilty after plea bargains were arranged, Smith said.

Five adults and four juveniles were arrested in October for a gang-related fistfight and shooting at a shopping center. One teen-ager was injured in the fistfight, but no one was shot.