Slaying, Domestic Dispute Mar Holiday Eve

The new year dawned with the county’s first slaying, in Santa Ana, while police in Brea arrested a gunman who barricaded himself in a home. But most places in Orange County, officials reported a generally peaceful holiday.

The slain man, identified by police as Ronald James Castillo, 23, of Santa Ana, was found shot to death shortly after 3 a.m. in the auto-body shop where he worked, Police Sgt. Dick Faust said.

Faust said that police were not certain of a motive but that “robbery is highly possible.”

Police answered an emergency call and discovered Castillo’s body at the shop in the 1200 block of East Chestnut Avenue. Witnesses told police they saw two men fleeing the shop before police arrived.

Faust said it was not clear if anything had been stolen.

In Brea, a man involved in a domestic dispute was arrested three hours after barricading himself inside a home in the 800 block of East Willow Drive, police said. SWAT police and a hostage negotiator were called to the scene about 12:30 a.m. after Mario Federico Nunez, 33, allegedly struck a woman who lived there and threatened her with a handgun, police said.

Nunez was under court order not to visit the home, police said. Sgt. Jeffrey Keyworth said he did not know if the couple were married. The woman escaped unharmed with her children.

Nunez was booked into Orange County Jail on suspicion of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, child endangerment and domestic violence, Keyworth said.

Police elsewhere in Orange County reported scattered drunk-driving arrests but few major problems involving New Year’s Eve revelers.

In Newport Beach, for example, police arrested three people on suspicion of drunk driving.

“I think people are finally catching on to the idea,” said Sgt. Mike McDonough.

Some police supervisors said the high winds that kicked up about midnight may have helped keep revelers indoors.

Investigators in Laguna Beach were trying to determine the cause of a gas-station fire that forced the temporary evacuation of several nearby families. Fire broke out about 7:30 a.m. in a propane tank at the station, in the 32000 block of South Coast Highway. Firefighters pumped water on the tank to keep it cool until the fire died, about 90 minutes later, said Police Sgt. Greg Bartz.