After 14 months, police arrest four in shooting
REDLANDS – Four men, including an accomplice, were taken into custody and charged with the murders of two teenagers in a January 2011 shooting that also included injuries to two others.
Anthony John Legaspi, 18, John David Salazar, 22, and Adrian Powers, 18, were charged with first degree murder with special allegations. Another man, Jose Lara, 28, was charged with accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
All four men, who police said are part of an undisclosed street gang, were arrested last week, said police spokesman Carl Baker.
Redlands Police allege that Legaspi, Salazar and Powers shot Quinn McCaleb, 17, and Andrew Jackson, 16, as they walked with friends through an apartment complex playground in the 900 block of Oxford Drive on Jan. 5, 2011. Two other teens were seriously wounded in the attack while a fifth escaped unharmed.
McCaleb died at the scene and Jackson died at a nearby hospital.
Police have been investigating the shooting ever since. During that time, police have conducted interviews with more than 250 people, followed up on more than 100 tips and served over 50 search warrants in order to identify the suspects and gather enough evidence to support the arrests.
San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos said the tenacity of Redlands’ police, which included the department’s Multiple Enforcement Team, led to the arrests.
“The criminal charges that we filed today,” said Ramos, “are the first step to holding these defendants accountable for their actions.”
No motive was released, said Baker.
Ramos said that Legaspi and Powers, both juveniles at the time of the shooting, will be charged as adults. If all are convicted of the charges, each defendant faces up to 220 years to life in prison.
Bail has been set at $5 million apiece. Lara faces up to seven years in prison; his bail was set at $2.5 million.
Baker said that Legaspi, Lara and Powers were arrested at their Redlands residences. Salazar was arrested following a traffic stop.
Deputy District Attorney Ron Webster will prosecute the case.
Read more:
Associated Press, 3 men charged with murder of 2 teenage boys on Southern California playground
