3 arrested after South Coast area roadway shooting takes life of 23-year-old driver

Santa Ana police officers have arrested three men suspected of being involved in a South Coast Metro gang-related homicide that occurred Saturday night, when the occupants of a vehicle traveling on MacArthur Boulevard allegedly shot into another vehicle, killing the driver.

Alfredo Ivan Pulido, 22, Leonel Diaz, 21 and Jason Garcia, 21 — all residents of Santa Ana — were booked on suspicion of murder, assault with a firearm on a person and additional gang-related charges stemming from the incident, according to a release issued Sunday.

The victim was identified Monday by a police spokesman as 23-year-old Santa Ana resident Nick Torres. Torres sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his upper torso and was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A female passenger who had been in the vehicle with Torres at the time of the incident was not injured, according to the release.

At least one witness to the incident told officers he was traveling eastbound on MacArthur at around 9:12 p.m. when he saw a green SUV accelerate and then sidle up to a second vehicle, described as a gray BMW, also traveling eastbound, police reported.

The witness told police he heard three to five gunshots, then observed the SUV turn south onto Bear Street as the BMW came to a stop on the 1600 block of MacArthur Boulevard, according to the release.

Responding officers located a green Chevy Trailblazer matching witness descriptions nearby on Harbor Boulevard and initiated a traffic stop, the release indicated. They detained Pulido, Diaz and Garcia from inside the vehicle, which the witnesses positively identified as the same SUV they’d seen on MacArthur.

Santa Ana Police Department detectives believe the shooting was gang related but were unable to provide further details on Monday.

Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to call the Homicide Section at (714) 245-8390 or Orange County Crime Stoppers 1-855-TIP-OCCS (847-6227).

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