Man, 22, Shot to Death in Orange County Carjacking

No one who knew Robert Fierro was surprised to hear that he pulled over to the side of the road early Sunday morning to help a friend with car trouble. But grieving friends and relatives can’t understand why two men wearing ski masks then gunned him down and fled in his car.

Fierro, 22, was shot about 4:15 a.m. at Ball Road and Perdido Street in an unincorporated area of Orange County, and he died shortly before 6 a.m. at Columbia Hospital in Anaheim, officials said. His car, a 1993 black Honda Accord, was found partially stripped and abandoned in Stanton.

“Oh, my God, no, who would want to do this to Robert?” said Tom Cardoza, Fierro’s basketball coach at Bolsa Grande High School in Garden Grove . “He was such a fun-loving guy. He was a pleasure to have known. He will be missed.”

Fierro was a basketball standout known for his jump shot--and for being so tall and thin that a friend joked that he’d bend with the wind, Cardoza said.

In February 1993, Fierro became a hero when he scored 20 points and had 10 rebounds to help the Matadors defeat La Quinta High School and end a seven-game winning streak.

“His younger sister and his parents would come to all the basketball games,” Cardoza said. “They’d be screaming the loudest, cheering for Robert.”

After high school, Fierro worked at an office supply store to afford classes at Rancho Santiago College, Cardoza said.

On Sunday, Fierro’s family said they were too grief-stricken to speak about the shooting.

Early Sunday morning, Fierro was following an unidentified friend who was driving another vehicle and towing a customized car that the friend planned to enter in a car show, said Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Fred Lisanti.

“There was a problem with the vehicle” being towed that prompted the pair to pull over, Lisanti said.

The gunmen appeared and shot Fierro before jumping into his car and speeding off. Fierro’s friend was not injured.

The vehicle was found about 11:40 a.m. in the 8900 block of Pacific Avenue, Lisanti said.

The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information about the shooting or the car is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department at (714) 288-6741.