Suspected Gang Member Surrenders in Fatal Shooting of Boy, 17, at Party

A suspected gang member accused of killing a 17-year-old rival with a single shotgun blast to the head during a birthday party earlier this month has surrendered to police.

Raymond Gomez, 22, believed to be a member of the Crook City Bloods, a gang in Huntington Beach and south Westminster, was being held on $250,000 bail in Orange County Jail, authorities said.

Gomez surrendered Thursday to authorities at Municipal Court in Westminster, where he appeared Friday on a murder charge. His arraignment was postponed until March 1, a court clerk said.

It was not clear why Gomez turned himself in, police said. But they theorize that Gomez believed homicide detectives were poised to arrest him.

“We hit his friends and relatives in known areas pretty hard,” said Garden Grove Police Sgt. Doug Morrill. “He just ran out of places to hide.”

Gomez is accused of the brutal slaying of Felipe Luna, 17, who allegedly belonged to the long-established Crow Village gang in Stanton. The youth was shot to death at a so-called “flyer party” on Feb. 1.

Police said that organizers of a weekend birthday party for two female friends of Luna passed out hundreds of flyers around neighborhoods and schools, inviting people to attend the party in a rented room at the Jewish Community Center on Buaro Street.

Morrill said that about 125 people showed up, including members of eight gangs.

Luna was dancing with his girlfriend about 9:50 p.m. when a man walked up to him and began an argument, Morrill said.

“There were words exchanged, but we don’t know what,” Morrill said.

Suddenly, the man pulled out a sawed-off shotgun, aimed about 2 inches from Luna’s face and fired, killing the teen-ager, Morrill said.

About 14 hours after the shooting, a 17-year-old Huntington Beach boy was taken into custody at his home in connection with the shooting, police said. He is still being held at Orange County Juvenile Hall, Morrill said.

“We are not seeking anybody else,” he said.