Gang Member Arrested in Slaying

FULLERTON —  A 22-year-old gang member from Santa Ana has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the death last week of a liquor-store clerk from Anaheim Hills, police said Sunday.

Jesse Luis Calderon is being held in Fullerton Jail without bail and will be arraigned this week on charges of murder, kidnaping and robbery, Fullerton Police Sgt. John Petropulos said.

Calderon is accused of murdering Harold Wayne Hughes, 37, whose body was found Wednesday night at the bottom of an embankment near Acacia Avenue and Skyline Drive in Fullerton. He had been shot in the head, police said.

Hughes had last been seen alive leaving his home Tuesday afternoon for his night shift at a liquor store. Police were notified when he did not show up for work and when he did not return home.

Hughes’ car was found on Thursday, parked on a street on Balboa Island in Newport Beach. Police said “physical evidence” found in the car pointed to gang involvement and the arrest of Calderon. Petropulos identified Calderon as “an admitted member of the street gang Orange County Suicidals.” Officers also said they had a “witness statement,” but they did not elaborate.

Calderon was arrested without incident about 2 p.m. Friday at Beach Boulevard and Orange Avenue in Anaheim by Fullerton and Anaheim police.