Lineup Yields Murder Suspect : Crime: After an apparent transient woman was gunned down in Costa Mesa, a suspect was cornered by police near a shelter, sparking an outcry of concern from shelter neighbors.

After setting up a makeshift lineup in a driveway to identify a murder suspect, police arrested a local man on suspicion of shooting to death an apparent transient woman Monday outside a homeless shelter.

Alonso Marcus Gutierrez, 20, of Costa Mesa was cornered by police in a single-car garage just a few houses away from the shooting, which occurred outside the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter on Wallace Avenue, police said. A handgun believed to be the murder weapon was found just a few feet away in the garage, but police are still searching for a motive.

The violent altercation sparked immediate cries of concern from shelter neighbors who said they do not like the idea of living next to a facility that attracts transients. But advocates for the homeless, mindful of the controversy that has threatened to force the Save Ourselves community center from its Costa Mesa home, cautioned against overreactions.

Police said Gutierrez was seen fleeing the shelter around 2:40 p.m., moments after the shooting, and apparently hid in the garage for more than four hours. After two bloodhounds failed to get a scent, police were able to track Gutierrez to the garage through the accounts of witnesses, police said. He gave up without a struggle.

Gutierrez was held Monday night on $250,000 bail in the murder of the woman, whose identify was withheld by police. He had been picked out by witnesses from a group of eight men who were found near the garage and who generally fit the description of the murder suspect, according to police.

Capt. Tom Lazar of the Costa Mesa Police Department said: “I’m pretty confident we have the right guy. We have the one guy who was identified by the witnesses.”

Police had no motive for the slaying Monday night and said they knew of no connection between Gutierrez and the woman he is accused of killing with a single gunshot wound to the chest. Police had only sketchy details about the suspect or any ties he might have had to the shelter, saying that he had been vague about his past whereabouts and activities.

The victim was described as a white, 45-year-old woman. She was apparently not among the 12 families currently staying at the homeless shelter but was known to use the free shower facilities there, according to Scott Mather, president of the Interfaith Shelter.

She was shot in a driveway behind the shelter and was seen bleeding to death by several horrified neighbors. A shelter resident called 911, but the woman was dead by the time paramedics arrived, officials said.

Along with Gutierrez, police also detained for questioning three men who were in a car seen around the site of the suspect’s arrest. Their connection to the case, if any, was unclear Monday night.

The homicide sparked immediate cries of concern from neighbors, some of whom said they have had previous problems with the shelter.

Ian Hahn, a commodities broker who has lived in the neighborhood for more than two years, said he has seen police come out to the shelter as often as three times a week to investigate reports of drug overdoses, beatings and late-night yelling.

Hahn said he climbed on his roof shortly after the shooting to take a picture of the victim and plans to take the photograph to the City Council in an attempt to have the shelter closed.

“Everyone has problems, but like everybody else, they don’t want it next door,” Hahn said.

But Mather, shelter president, said: “I hope this doesn’t play into the idea of street people being violent and dangerous. She was a victim of the system. A mentally ill, single woman on the streets. Forced to survive, she was put into a violent situation with somebody. She belonged where she could be helped, not on the streets.”

The Interfaith Shelter, operated through both public and private funding, generally houses about 70 to 80 homeless individuals and family members each night, in addition to other transients who use the facilities on occasion. Residents must work during their stays of up to two months and are required to save 80% of their income.