2 Men Held in Double Slaying in Orange : Crime: Police say they found ‘evidence connecting the suspects to the homicides,’ including property taken from the murder site, an area of posh houses.

Two men were arrested Friday in connection with a February double murder at a home in an exclusive residential area of Orange that shocked neighbors and puzzled authorities, police said Saturday.

Timothy Kelly, 21, of Cypress and Ernest Garcia, 30, of San Diego were arrested at their homes without incident by Orange police on suspicion of murder, Sgt. Steve Ames said, and are being held at Orange County Jail.

A search of their residences turned up “evidence connecting the suspects to the homicides,” including property taken from the murder site, said Ames, who would not elaborate.

The arrests capped a three-month investigation into the slayings of Robert George Wrate, 51, the owner of the home in the 1100 block of North Ridgeline Road, and Raymon Kim Johnson, 42, of Whittier. Wrate, owner of West Coast Drum Center in Santa Ana, and Johnson, who sold musical instruments, were found shot to death Feb. 29.

The crime sent shock waves through the otherwise-tranquil community.

“This was a big one for us,” Ames said. “The city of Orange doesn’t usually get this type of thing, especially in that part of town, which is a very exclusive section near Orange Park Acres.”

Wrate’s neighborhood overlooks the Ridgeline Country Club.

Police released few details of the crime and what led to the arrests, other than to say they believe that Wrate and Johnson arrived at the home and interrupted a burglary in progress by the two suspects, Kelly and Garcia.

A neighbor told reporters that she had heard a sharp sound, louder than a car backfiring, at about 11 a.m. on the day before the bodies were found.

Garcia knew Wrate and had helped him move into the house, said the victim’s brother, Richard Wrate of Corona del Mar.

“He was only a casual laborer for my brother,” he said of Garcia. “He was a roommate of a guy who once worked for Bob. He helped Bob move and helped me move some stock into my business once.”

He expressed relief that the suspects had been arrested but added that he believes that “there was more to this than a burglary.”

“But how it ties into the drum shop . . . and why this was done, I don’t know,” Richard Wrate said.

Police had been sent to the million-dollar home at about 12:30 p.m. after Johnson’s wife reported him missing, Ames said.

The last thing she knew was that her husband, a sales representative for Hoshino USA and a business associate of Wrate’s, had been scheduled to meet Wrate for lunch on the day before the bodies were found, Ames said.

Wrate, whose drum store has been described as the largest in California, had moved to California from Indiana in 1959, was divorced and lived alone in the large home.

His brother said Wrate had moved into the home only about six months before the shootings, but had lived in Orange for about 10 years and previously lived in Costa Mesa.

Ames said anyone with information on the slayings can contact Detective Mike Harper at (714) 744-7513 or the police watch commander at (714) 744-7403.