Santa Ana man arrested on suspicion of murder and kidnapping for ransom

A Santa Ana man was arrested late Monday on suspicion of murder and kidnapping for ransom after dozens of SWAT team officers stormed his home and found 2 kilograms of fentanyl and a kidnapped man.

Antonio Silva Lopez, 27, was arrested on suspicion of murder in the killing of 34-year-old Escondido resident Adrian Darren Bonar. Silva also faces kidnapping charges over the man that officers found trapped in his home.

About 50 SWAT officers from several Orange County law enforcement agencies surrounded the home in the 2500 block of Bristol Street in Santa Ana. Silva was not compliant with officers’ commands and was taken into custody after being struck by a 40-millimeter foam tip launcher, authorities said.

Inside the home they also found a variety of handguns and a few rifles, according to the Anaheim Police Department. The two, 2-pound bags of fentanyl have a street value of about $30,000 each, authorities said.

Authorities declined to disclose what, if any, relationship there was among Silva, Bonar and the kidnapped man. They also declined to disclose whether Silva had any affiliations with gangs or any other criminal organizations.

“We’re still investigating and determining what the relationships and motives between all involved parties could possible be,” Anaheim Police Sgt. Shane Carringer said. “Our department threw every possible resource we had at this crime, and that was nonstop work for the past four weeks.”

Carringer described the kidnapping victim as “a legitimate captive kidnapped victim being held for ransom.” Prosecutors said the alleged kidnapping occurred between Friday and Monday.

Bonar’s body was discovered Oct. 17 wrapped in a tarp in the trunk of an abandoned Lexus in Anaheim. California Highway Patrol officers were preparing to tow the vehicle from the side of Santa Ana Canyon Road west of Gypsum Canyon when the body was discovered.

KTLA-TV Channel 5 reported that Bonar is listed on his Facebook page as a U.S. Army veteran, and an Army social media page features a photo of a solder named Spc. Adrian Bonar on patrol in Akashat, Iraq, during a 2007 deployment.

Silva has an arraignment scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday.

City News Service contributed to this report.