HUNTINGTON BEACH : Drug Suspect Held in Tennis Pro’s Death

A transient has been arrested in connection with last week’s fatal stabbing of a 27-year-old Corona tennis pro who died in what police said was a drug-related incident.

Ehriberto Arcelara, 26, was arrested during an unrelated narcotics sting operation Tuesday. After interviewing Arcelara and gathering other information, police charged him in connection with the death of Stephen W. Aniston on Sept. 21.

Arcelara was arraigned Thursday on murder and drug charges. Information about his pleas to the charges was not immediately available.

Aniston, a former UC Irvine student and professional tennis player, was found mortally wounded behind the wheel of his car parked at Yorktown Avenue east of Beach Boulevard, police said. He died en route to the hospital.

At the beginning of the investigation, detectives had no leads as to who killed Aniston, or why. A break in the case occurred Tuesday when Arcelara was arrested in connection with selling cocaine to undercover agents, Huntington Beach Police Lt. Ed McErlain said.

“Due to the close proximity of (Arcelara’s arrest) to the location where victim Stephen Aniston was found stabbed, and the belief that the murder was possibly drug related, homicide investigators questioned suspect Arcelara,” McErlain said in a prepared statement.

“Based on information and evidence obtained during their investigation, and statements made to homicide investigators during their interview with the suspect, he was charged with murder,” McErlain said.

Arcelara was carrying a knife at the time of his arrest, police said, but investigators had not yet determined whether it was the murder weapon.

No details of the arrest were publicly released until Thursday because detectives were still gathering information about the murder, McErlain said.

Arcelara was being held in Huntington Beach City Jail without bail.

Before his death, Aniston had been a tennis pro at Shadow Mountain Racquet and Tennis Club in Palm Desert. He had also been the No. 1 singles player at UC Irvine and played on the professional tennis circuit where he ranked as high as 200 in the world.