Irvine : Officers Investigate Gunshot Death of Man

Sheriff’s officers were investigating the gunshot death of an unidentified man Monday night during an apparent holdup of three men riding on bicycles in an unincorporated area just north of Irvine.

Deputies responded about 7:30 p.m. to the shooting in an agricultural area near Jeffrey Road and Irvine Boulevard, sheriff’s Lt. Larry Abbott said.

“We think it’s a Mexican laborer,” Abbott said.

The shooting victim’s two companions told deputies that they were confronted by two men in a red or rust-colored Camaro or similar car on a dirt road near Jeffrey Road, about 200 yards north of the Irvine city limits, sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Richard J. Olson said.

When the suspects ordered the three bicyclists to the ground and demanded money, one of the victims jumped up and began to run, Olson said. One of the suspects fired at the fleeing man, then both suspects drove away in the car. The wounded man was declared dead at the scene.

Shell casings were recovered at the scene, authorities said.

Although the victim was not immediately identified, Abbott said he may have lived in a nearby labor camp.