Santa Clarita Man Tells Police He Shot Guard

A Santa Clarita gang member Wednesday confessed to shooting a security guard as the man patrolled a vacant apartment building in Newhall, authorities said.

Rigoberto Medrano, 18, is in custody in lieu of $500,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned today on one count of attempted murder. He also faces two counts of spousal assault, one count of receiving stolen property and one count of child endangerment--all stemming from an alleged attack on his girlfriend Tuesday, said Deputy Greg La Val of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

An informant identified Medrano as the shooter in the July 3 late-night incident that left security guard Dago Natareno, 38, wounded by a .25 caliber bullet that entered his right shoulder and lodged several inches deep in his chest, La Val said.

Natareno was one of two armed guards patrolling an apartment building in the 24000 block of Pine Street that was declared unsafe and abandoned after the Northridge earthquake.

Natareno was shot at several times, but hit only once. It was his first day on the job.

The shooting is believed to have been partly motivated by gangs staking out their turf in the area, La Val said. Medrano is a member of a Newhall gang, he said.

Natareno told deputies a group of people drove by the apartment building in a maroon Chevrolet Monte Carlo before the shooting and threatened to shoot him if he did not leave.

Medrano was arrested Tuesday night when deputies responded to a call that he had attacked his girlfriend, punching and kicking in the windshield of a vehicle occupied by the girlfriend and the couple’s 15-month-old child.

The Sheriff’s Department’s anti-gang unit was already seeking Medrano in the July 3 shooting and obtained a search warrant for his Newhall residence on Tuesday.

No weapon was found, although deputies found a Newhall Avenue street sign, which prompted the charge of possessing stolen property.

Medrano first denied involvement in the shooting, but changed his story Wednesday morning.

“He broke down--crying--telling us he shot the security guard and was remorseful about it,” La Val said.

The July 3 shooting was one of three in the Newhall community in a two-week period.

Authorities say that the incidents are unrelated, but that they are concerned about the flurry of violence.

His department plans “to up patrols . . . down there to try and overcome it,” La Val said.