2 Arrested, 2 Sought in Slayings, Shootings

Sheriff’s homicide detectives arrested two men and are looking for two brothers in connection with three homicides and two other shootings, including a carjacking that left an off-duty Ontario policeman wounded, authorities said Wednesday.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Investigator Harry Sawicki said the four men are all believed to be linked to the spate of shootings. The two still at large are considered armed and dangerous, authorities said.

Arrested were Jose Munoz and Daniel Ray Chavez, both 21 and residents of Mead Valley, an unincorporated area south of Riverside.

Munoz was arrested Friday on suspicion of murdering Joey Mans, 26, and Timothy Jones, 24, who were found dead from gunshots Oct. 12 at a popular scenic site near Lake Matthews, northeast of Corona.

Munoz also is suspected of robbing and killing Jose Aragon, 22, on Nov. 25 when he was riding his motorcycle in an off-road recreation area near Banning, Sawicki said.

Investigators believe Munoz also is connected to the Oct. 23 shooting of a Moreno Valley motorist who was shot in the face but escaped his assailants by driving off, and the Nov. 30 shooting and robbery of off-duty Ontario Police Sgt. John Feltenbarger.

Sawicki said Feltenbarger was forced off the road by carjacking gunmen while driving home in Moreno Valley. He was shot in the chest and his vehicle was found a few hours later in Mead Valley. He is recovering from his injuries.

Chavez was arrested Monday in connection with the Mans and Jones murders, Sawicki said.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is now looking for two remaining suspects in the shootings, Sawicki said. They are brothers Orlando Gene Romero Jr., 21, and Christopher Romero, also known as Christopher Self, 18.