4 Arrested After Student Tips About Planned Shooting

Acting on a tip from students, police arrested four people suspected of planning a drive-by shooting Wednesday at Back Bay High School.

Ricardo Rodriguez, 19, and three juveniles, all of Costa Mesa, were arrested as they drove by the school, at 390 Monte Vista Ave., said Costa Mesa Gang Unit Sgt. Dale Birney.

According to police, the youths planned to retaliate for a gang incident that occurred Tuesday night. Detectives would not release details of that incident.

The rumor that someone was planning a drive-by shooting outside Back Bay High School on Wednesday “started out as something the kids were hearing,” Birney said. “It eventually made it to the principal’s office.”

School administrators called police about 11:15 a.m. Officers got a description of the car and the suspects from students.

School Principal Carole Castaldo heard a slightly different version of events. She said students heard that a drive-by shooting was planned in retaliation for a fistfight Wednesday morning on campus.

Police spotted a car matching the given description about 12:30 p.m. and converged on it. According to Birney, a loaded handgun and a knife were found hidden in the car.

“The adult [Rodriguez] had nothing to do with the school, but the three juveniles, I don’t know,” Birney said.

All four suspects were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon and violating the Gun-Free School Zone Act, enacted this year. They also face misdemeanor charges of possessing weapons, police said.