Conviction in Drive-By Shooting

A Santa Ana gang member was convicted of second-degree murder Wednesday for the drive-by shooting death of an 18-year-old man in February.

Steven Joseph Salazar, 23, who had been released from prison just six days before the shooting, was found guilty of killing Salvador Arias as he fired into a crowd of people the night of Feb. 24.

Salazar is a cousin of Robert P. Figueroa, one of the defendants on trial in Newport Beach in connection with another fatal drive-by shooting, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. James Marion.

Although Salazar was a member of the 5th Street gang, there was no evidence that the victim had any gang affiliation, said Marion.

Salazar could receive a maximum of 23 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 14 by Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan, the same judge who convicted him after a two-day trial. Ryan also convicted him of using a gun during the crime.

The shooting occurred about 8 p.m. when a red pickup truck slowly drove by a home on the 5000 block of West 5th Street. Witnesses said a man positioned in the bed of the truck began firing a revolver into a group of about six people standing in front of the home and sped away, said Marion.

Arias, a laborer, was fatally shot once in the back of the head and once in the leg.

Initially, witnesses were reluctant to come forward and identify the shooter, said Marion. But during the trial, an 18-year-old Santa Ana man present during the incident testified and identified Salazar as the man who fired the gun.

The prosecution also presented evidence that indicated Salazar had a friend who owned a red pickup truck and had access to it.

Salazar, however, testified in his own defense and denied shooting Arias. He claimed he wasn’t even present and that he was home watching television during the shooting.

The defendant’s mother also testified that she was with her son that night but admitted she had left the house for a short period. Marion argued that Salazar had time to commit the crime.

However, defense attorney Kevin Gallagher argued that Salazar was a victim of mistaken identity. He contended that it was too dark for anyone to have been able to identify the gunman.