Orange Police Hold 1 Man, Seek Another in Attack on Couple

Police have arrested one man and are seeking another as the suspected assailants who shot, stabbed and beat a man and woman during a mysterious late-night attack.

Police are asking the public for assistance in the search for Manuel “Manny” Martinez, 22, of Orange, who was identified by the couple as one of the assailants, Lt. Ed Tunstall said.

Investigators described Martinez as 5-foot-9, 185 pounds and Latino with brown hair and brown eyes. He may be driving a 1989 maroon Nissan mini-truck with the license plate 3W81049.

The second suspect is Jason Russell Davis, 19, of Placentia, who was arrested this week on suspicion of attempted murder as he arrived at a relative’s home in Fallbrook, Tunstall said.

The two victims remained hospitalized Thursday at an undisclosed site and no information was available on their condition.

The motive remains unclear for the Sunday night attack on Robert James Ward, 23, and Lisa Marie Marco, 22, Tunstall said. The incident had the earmarks of a robbery, but investigators suspect there might be more to the case, he said.

“It’s definitely not a random attack,” Tunstall said. “We don’t have a clear or confident understanding yet of the motive. I can’t say more than that.”

Neighbors called police about 11 p.m. Sunday to report a loud argument in the 800 block of West Fletcher Street, police said. Officers found the two victims, both stabbed repeatedly, in front of the residence. Ward had also been shot several times and Marco had been beaten with a blunt object.