Man Survives Shooting; 3 Men, 1 Youth in Custody

Three Orange men were in custody Monday and suspected of plotting the murder of a rival.

Police said the plan went awry Friday night when the victim was only wounded and a passing patrol officer heard the gunfire and exchanged shots with one of the suspects.

Francisco Javier Andrade, 20, Jose Luis Martinez, 19, and Irving Evangelista, 19, were being held Monday at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail each, according to police and jail records. They were booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.

A fourth suspect, a 16-year-old boy whose name was not released because of his age, was arrested at the scene of the shooting after he was wounded by an Orange police officer, according to department spokesman Lt. Ed Tunstall. He was booked on suspicion of attempted murder.

The officer was across the street from a strip mall at 3510 E. Chapman Ave. when he heard gunshots at 9:43 p.m. and saw a group of about seven people near a parked car, Tunstall said. The officer ran toward the group, which scattered, and he chased the suspect who appeared to be armed.

The group had surrounded the parked car where Jorge Garcia, 22, of Orange was sitting with his girlfriend. One or more of the suspects shot him in the chest, arm and leg, Tunstall said.

Before the shooting, Garcia was attacked by the group with fists and chains, police said.

Garcia was listed Monday in good condition at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.

The officer was not injured. An automatic handgun was recovered at the scene, police said.

The 16-year-old suspect, a resident of Orange, was chased by the officer and shot in the shoulder when he turned and opened fire on his pursuer, Tunstall said. The suspect was treated for his wounds at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana before he was jailed at Juvenile Hall on suspicion of attempted murder, Tunstall said.

The three other suspects, all arrested over the weekend, were identified as suspects by the Orange police gang unit and described by authorities as “members of a criminal street gang.” A fifth suspect is being sought, but police did not release that person’s name.

The district attorney’s office is investigating the actions of the officer who wounded the 16-year-old suspect, a routine procedure in officer-involved shootings. Police officials refused to identify the officer.