SANTA ANA : Man Arrested in Killing, Robbery

When Luis Moreno and his wife were robbed at knifepoint of $12 and car keys Thursday night, he didn’t call the police--he called his brother.

It was a tragic decision.

The pair tracked the alleged thief to a Santa Ana fast-food restaurant. But in the fight that ensued, 23-year-old Hector Moreno was fatally stabbed in the chest and Luis Moreno was slashed on the arms. By Friday, the suspect was in custody and being treated at a Santa Ana hospital for cuts sustained in the fight.

“They decided to take justice into their own hands and lost,” said police Sgt. Dick Faust. “I wish the guy would have called the police first.”

Sergio Pena, 21, of Santa Ana, was arrested at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana Friday afternoon on suspicion of murder and robbery, Faust said.

Luis Moreno, 25, was treated and released from the same hospital on Friday afternoon.

Police said Pena held up Luis Moreno and his wife Bertha in a supermarket parking lot on Grand Avenue about 8:15 p.m., then fled on his bicycle. He made no attempt to steal the couple’s car, police said.

Moreno telephoned his brother for help chasing the thief, police said, and the pair confronted him a block away outside a fast-food restaurant on 17th Street. During the resulting fight, Pena stabbed Hector Moreno in the chest, killing him, and slashed Luis Moreno several times on the upper arms, police said.

Police used dogs to hunt for Pena and found him a block away hiding in bushes, Faust said.

He said the weapon, a five-inch paring knife, was found several hours later.