Man Charged in Slaying of Santa Ana Good Samaritan

A 23-year-old Santa Ana man has been charged as the purse snatcher who allegedly gunned down a good Samaritan attempting to foil a petty street crime, police announced Thursday.

Richard Chavarria was arrested over the weekend and appeared in court Monday to face charges that he shot and killed Margarito Pina Estrella, a Santa Ana man who lost his life July 7 after helping a 61-year-old woman whose purse was stolen.

Chavarria was being held Thursday at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. He faces a murder charge, along with enhancement allegations that carry a possible death sentence because the killing occurred during a robbery. He is scheduled for an Aug. 8 arraignment.

Investigators said evidence near the crime scene led them to Chavarria, but declined to elaborate. Santa Ana Police Sgt. Bob Clark said Thursday that Chavarria is a known gang member who has had several encounters with police. Orange County court records show he has never been charged locally on any felony charges.

Clark said the arrest had brought a sense of relief to police and community members because of the crime’s tragic circumstances.

Estrella, 26, was walking home from church on a Sunday afternoon when he saw a woman chasing a man who taken her handbag, Clark said. Joining in the pursuit, Estrella doggedly followed the man even after the woman quit the chase and the thief fired an apparent warning shot, Clark said.

The fleeing thief then spun and shot Estrella twice, the fatal slug lodging in the chest of the factory worker, Clark said. The bandit made off with about $30, police said.

“I really think the entire neighborhood, the entire community in Santa Ana, saw that [crime] and realized that it was just outrageous,” Clark said. “Here’s a guy trying to do the right thing and paying for it with his life.”

Estrella, a seven-year resident of Santa Ana, was described by grieving relatives and neighbors as a devout Catholic who enjoyed playing basketball in the local park and worked double shifts as a clothes cutter at a local garment factory. He spent his last months saving money for a wedding in his native Mexico, relatives said.

Detectives immediately speculated that his killer was “somebody close to home” because of the nature of the crime and the lack of a getaway car, Clark said. Within two days of the slaying, investigators had identified Chavarria as their prime suspect, according to Clark.

Chavarria was captured after trying to flee police officers who surrounded him Saturday night at a home in west Santa Ana, Clark said. The suspect was unarmed when he was taken into custody and the murder weapon has not been found, he said.

Clark said investigators waited to release news of Chavarria’s arrest to avoid tipping off the suspect while he was at large and, after his arrest, because they did not want to taint the results of a police lineup for witnesses.

“We were afraid he would split and leave the country if he knew we were looking for him,” Clark said. “And after the arrest, [prosecutors] were worried that a photo in the paper might be used to question the results of the in-person lineup.”