Two men were charged Tuesday with a shooting at a memorial for a man fatally stabbed in Costa Mesa.
Erik Garcilazo, 19, and Elmer Suarezmorales, 20, were both charged with attempted murder in connection with the shooting early Friday in the 1700 block of Placentia Avenue, according to court records.
Garcilazo was charged with five counts apiece of attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm, all felonies, as well as misdemeanor counts of unlawful entry of a noncommercial dwelling and resisting arrest. He also faces sentencing enhancements for firing a gun and committing an offense while out of custody on another case and the personal use of a gun.
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Suarezmorales was charged with five felony counts apiece of attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm with sentencing enhancements for firing a gun and the personal use of a gun.
Police were dispatched at about 12:25 a.m. Friday to a report of gunshots, but they did not find any evidence of a shooting or witnesses, authorities said.
About an hour later, hospital staff called police about a male patient seeking treatment in the emergency room for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
Police said they determined the shooting was related to a memorial for a victim killed on June 11.
Officers had responded to a knife attack in the same block of Placentia Avenue, near 17th Street, at about 11 p.m. on June 11. That 22-year- old victim, whose identity has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at the scene and two suspects, Israel Antonio Valencia, 25, and Christopher Mathew Pena, 18, were arrested last Wednesday, according to Roxi Fyad of the Costa Mesa Police Department.
Valencia, 25, was charged last week with murder with a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. Pena was not charged.
While investigating the fatal stabbing, police found a 19-year-old man who had been attacked earlier at Placentia Avenue and Shalimar Drive. The second victim, who was taken to a hospital by family members, was believed to have been attacked by the same suspect, and authorities said they suspect the attacks were gang-related.
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