Countywide : Two Men Arrested in Shooting Death

Two reputed gang members have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 20-year-old Long Beach man who was killed during a confrontation this week, Santa Ana police said Thursday.

After a two-day investigation, members of the Police Department’s gang unit arrested 20-year-old Ezekiel Mugica Rivera of Orange and 18-year-old Alex Nava of Santa Ana at their homes Wednesday evening, Lt. Robert Helton said.

The victim, Gamaliel Serrano, was shot and killed just after midnight Monday in the 1500 block of South Bristol Street during “cruising night,” a time when the street is heavily traveled by young people showing off their cars, Helton said.

Serrano, whose friends told police he was a member of a Compton gang, was hit in the upper body by a single gunshot fired from a car that pulled up alongside the one he was riding in, Helton said. Serrano died before reaching the hospital.

“Both cars were cruising on Bristol when an argument broke out and there was some yelling back and forth between occupants of both vehicles,” Helton said.

About an hour after the shooting, police arrested a 15-year-old from Santa Ana while investigating a burglary. The juvenile, who police believe is also a gang member, had a semiautomatic handgun that police later identified as the weapon used in the Serrano shooting, Helton said.

The 15-year-old, whose name has not been released, is being held at Orange County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of illegally possessing the weapon and may face additional charges, police said. Police declined to say why the juvenile has not been arrested in connection with Serrano’s slaying.

Rivera and Nava--who told police they are gang members, Helton said--are being held at the Santa Ana Jail on suspicion of murder. Their bail has been set at $250,000 each.