Suspect Arrested in Fatal O.C. Toll Road Altercation

A Rancho Santa Margarita man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in the stabbings of twin brothers just off the Foothill toll road, authorities said.

Rodrigo Jose Requejo, 31, was taken into custody at his home without incident shortly after 11:30 p.m. He is being held on $1-million bond at Orange County Men’s Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident began Tuesday night with some kind of altercation, authorities said, which escalated into a confrontation on the Santa Margarita Parkway offramp.

Detectives tracked down Requejo with the help of a deputy who had had contact with him in recent months and remembered that his older, dark-colored pickup matched the description of the vehicle provided by witnesses.

Requejo apparently did not know Justin Ammann, who died of his stab wounds, or Jason Ammann, 23, who remained hospitalized Thursday, authorities said.

The twins’ uncle said Jason Ammann was not handling his brother’s death well emotionally but was recovering quickly physically.

“He’s a very strong young man,” Richard Dittmar said. “But you have to remember, Justin was his right arm. His right arm is gone.”

The young men’s parents were thankful for the arrest.

“I am very pleased,” said their mother, Sheila Ammann.

The brothers were returning home from Christmas shopping when the altercation began. Investigators were still trying to determine Thursday what started the argument.

Jason is not coherent enough to elaborate, his mother said, but what she has been able to get from him so far is that “the guy cut him off and clipped Jason’s truck.”

The dispute escalated as Requejo and the twins, heading south, exited the toll road at Santa Margarita Parkway and reached a traffic light. One truck was parked behind the other, and Justin Ammann, who was in the passenger seat, and Requejo got out about the same time, Amormino said.

The suspect stabbed Justin several times with “some type of large knife,” which has not been recovered, Amormino said. As Jason tried to help Justin, he was also stabbed.

Wednesday’s arrest was not Requejo’s first brush with the law.

He was convicted two years ago of a misdemeanor count of possession, manufacture and sale of a deadly weapon, according to court documents.

Police responding to a report of a gunshot from a business conducted a search of the property, with Requejo’s consent, and found a weapon similar to brass knuckles. He pleaded no contest.

Justin Ammann was working toward his high school diploma at a continuation school and was a manager at a tire store in Tustin. He was engaged to be married next summer.

Jason Ammann is a transmission specialist at Santa Margarita Ford, where his father, William, also works. The dealership is across the street from the stabbing scene.

The Ammann family is planning a memorial for Justin at 5 p.m. Sunday at the pier in Huntington Beach, where the boys spent several years of their childhood and still have many friends.