Shooting Suspect Freed in Graffiti Case; Community Meeting Tonight

A suspect in the shooting of a good Samaritan who confronted a group of gang members painting graffiti has been released from Orange County Jail after posting $10,000 bail for an unrelated stolen property charge, records show.

John Arnold Villalobos, 25, has not been charged in the Feb. 17 shooting that wounded a 41-year-old Anaheim woman, but he remains a suspect, police said.

A search of Villalobos’ home turned up auto accessories allegedly stolen from a Costa Mesa car dealership, Orange Police Lt. Ed Tunstall said.

Investigators are pulling together evidence in the shooting and may seek attempted murder charges against Villalobos and other suspects in the weeks to come, Tunstall said.

Police are also looking for Lisandro Fernandez and Francisco Trejo, both 20, as suspects in the shooting that wounded the woman, who has not been identified for safety concerns, Tunstall said.

The victim was on the way to a friend’s house when she saw a group of men spray-painting gang graffiti on the garage door of a home near Lemon Street and Collins Avenue in Orange, police said.

She blew her car horn and flashed her lights in an attempt to scare the vandals off, but they turned on her, Tunstall said. One man spray-painted the woman’s minivan and another shot into her van, wounding her in the stomach. The woman has been released from the hospital and is expected to recover fully.

Hoping to calm residents’ nerves about that and other recent incidents, police officials are holding a community meeting tonight.

In the past month, residents unaccustomed to gunfire have learned of three shootings in business areas, one on Chapman Avenue, and many of them have been demanding answers from City Hall and police headquarters.

“We are aware of their fear, and we are responding to it,” Capt. Gene Hernandez said. “There is a need to be concerned that there is significant activity that is unusual in our city. We don’t want gangs to gain a foothold here.”

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in City Council chambers at City Hall, 300 E. Chapman Ave. Information: (714) 744-5500.