Above: Mark Remmers (L) and Brooke De La Cruz (R) | Santa Ana PD
ORANGE — On December 4, 2022, Santa Ana Police Communications received a call regarding a shooting around 4:27 pm. The caller reportedly described a woman who’d been shot in a parking lot.
Police responded to the source of the report, in the area of the 1400 South Cypress Street. Officers were able to locate the woman in the parking lot of 1473 South Main Street. She was reportedly suffering a gunshot wound to her upper torso.
The victim was transported to a local hospital by Orange County Fire Authority and admitted in critical condition.
On the 9th of December, 2022, the hospital notified officers that the victim, Maria Del Refugio Mora (36), had passed away due to her injuries.
At the start of the investigation, police had identified a suspect vehicle as a white sedan, eventually identified as a white Toyota Camry, and that the occupants had shot at two juveniles.
The juveniles ran to safety, but Mora was struck by the gunfire.
The suspects were soon identified as Mark Remmers (19) and Brooke De La Cruz (24) who are both from the city of Orange.
On Thursday, December 15, 2022, Remmers was located in the 2100 block of Newport Boulevard in the City of Costa Mesa and was arrested.
De La Cruz was arrested in the 500 block of South Hill Street in Orange, where the suspect vehicle was also located.