Arraignment set in Marine’s death

Two Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton are to be arraigned today in O.C. Superior Court on charges of fatally shooting a fellow Marine over stolen drug money, authorities said Thursday.

Lance Cpl. Christian Carney, 21, of Manorville, N.Y., and Pvt. Alvin Lovely, 20, of Dallas are accused of killing Pvt. Stephen Serrano, 20, of El Dorado, Calif., on May 13 because they believed he and an unidentified Marine had stolen money Carney had made selling cocaine and ecstasy on the base, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

When Carney and Lovely found that the money had been taken, they drove the unidentified Marine to a hilly area of San Clemente, pointed a gun at his head and threatened to kill him if he didn’t identify the thief, prosecutors said. Fearing for his life, the Marine told them Serrano did it, prosecutors said.

Later that day, authorities said, Carney and Lovely drove Serrano to the same area and shot him once in the face and three times in the back before fleeing. A hiker discovered Serrano’s body face down in a drainage ditch May 15.

The Orange County Grand Jury indicted both Carney and Lovely this month on one felony count of murder and one felony count of criminal threats.

-- Tony Barboza