San Clemente Sees Its First Gang Slaying

A night of taunting between gangs at a restaurant/nightclub ended Sunday when a 26-year-old man was shot to death in the parking lot--the first homicide here in five years and the first gang slaying ever.

Roman C. Calvillo, 26, was shot in the head and hip at 1:30 a.m. outside the Great Wall, a Chinese restaurant and club, Sgt. James Thomas said. Friends rushed Calvillo to a hospital. He was dead on arrival.

The slaying underscores the growing problem of gang violence in south Orange County, where officials recently launched a gang prevention task force. Calvillo, a member of a San Clemente gang, was apparently killed by a member of a San Juan Capistrano gang, Thomas said. The two gangs, which have been bitter enemies for several years, were involved in the drive-by shooting last Christmas Eve in which a 4-year-old girl survived being shot in the face and upper body as she played on the porch of a neighbor’s apartment in San Clemente.

Calvillo and about five friends had gone to the restaurant about 9:30 p.m. Saturday to listen to a band, said San Clemente Police Sgt. Russ Moore. Shortly after, a group of 10 men arrived and were seated nearby.

“The two groups promptly began to exchange rude remarks and gang gestures,” Moore said.

The exchanges between the two groups continued throughout the night, Moore said. Then at 1:30 a.m, the two sides began flinging beer bottles, Moore said.

At least 50 customers were still in the restaurant, and several of them saw a member of the San Juan Capistrano group pull out a handgun and point it at Calvillo and his friends, police said.

Calvillo then ran out of the restaurant. The gunman followed, and shot Calvillo in the parking lot. He and his companions fled in a dark brown Chevrolet van.

The killer was described as a slender, 20-year-old Latino, 5 feet 6 inches tall with slicked-back black hair. The van’s driver was described as a husky 20-year-old Latino with a full beard.

Calvillo’s friends drove him to Samaritan Medical Center in San Clemente.