Slaying Puts Toll Near Record

A young man driving along a residential street was fatally shot early Sunday by what police believe were gang members lying in wait for him, leaving Santa Ana with its second-deadliest year for gang-related homicides.

The shooting of James Eric Michel, 25, of Santa Ana shortly after midnight raised the city’s total of gang-related deaths this year to 47, one shy of the record set in 1993.

The attack on Michel ushered in a day in which about 200 mourners met Sunday afternoon to remember the city’s slaying victims during a 2 1/2-hour church vigil, the last in a series of commemorations that began early this year.

For each person whose life ended in violence, a square has been sewn onto the “River of Tears” quilt. The quilt is now more than 45 feet long and about four feet wide.

“The quilt is too big,” said Charles Blek, 50, whose son was shot to death in June 1994. “My son’s name is not on the quilt. . . . Nevertheless, my family knows the pain of the quilt.”

In Sunday’s attack, Michel and a friend were in the 1800 block of West 2nd Street about 12:15 a.m. when their car was sprayed with bullets from behind, Sgt. Dick Faust said.

“One of the shots struck Michel in the head,” Faust said. “He lost control of the car and crashed into a parked vehicle.”

Michel was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died, a hospital spokeswoman said. The passenger was not injured, Faust said.

In an unrelated attempted robbery Saturday evening, a man was shot and killed while strolling on a sidewalk in the 100 block of South Birch Street, Faust said.

German Gonzalez, 23, of Santa Ana was shot in the stomach about 5 p.m. by one of two men who surprised him from behind in what appeared to be an attempted robbery, investigators said. Gonzalez died at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana about 2 1/2 hours later, Faust said.

The two assailants, who police believe are gang members, were last seen running south on Birch Street.

Gang unit detectives are investigating both shootings.

As relatives of the slain men were making funeral plans, scores of people gathered at the First United Methodist Church in Santa Ana to commemorate 75 of the city’s slaying victims. For about an hour, friends and relatives of the victims spoke about their losses and comforted each other in the church hall, many breaking down in tears.

Elia Ortiz, whose 16-year-old son died earlier this year, said the vigil marked the first time she had seen the “River of Tears.”

“It’s good to know that there are people out there who can relate to my pain,” she said. “I feel like we’re all in the same fight together and it gives me hope.”

Santa Ana’s gang-related killings in 1995 totaled six more than in the previous year and one short of the record of 48 such deaths in 1993, Lt. Bob Helton said. Countywide, the number of homicides decreased slightly to 177 in 1995, compared with 180 the previous year, according to an unofficial count by the Orange County coroner’s office.

“It has drained us emotionally,” Los Amigos President Amin David said. “We’ve held vigils on every street where a murder has occurred.”

One of those commemorated on the quilt is Jose Pulido, a teenager with gang affiliations who was shot to death after a police chase. His father, Pedro Pulido, talked about his son’s death during the vigil, then touched the quilt square with his son’s name sewn on.

“All I could feel were the tears and the hurt,” he said.

Danella George, wearing a pin with a photo of her slain 14-year-old son, Carl Claes, thanked the crowd for its support. As she left the church, she talked of New Year’s Eve being one of her son’s favorite holidays.

“This was his night. He loved it,” she said. “We would get together and watch Dick Clark’s at Times Square. . . . This year, I don’t think I’ll be celebrating. I’ll probably just read a book or something.”