DUI suspect gave false name to police

Greg Risling

Police misidentified a man who was involved in a fatal traffic accident

last month in Fountain Valley and wrongly publicized his name, officials

said this week after finding out the man had given them a friend’s name.

Along with facing allegations of felony hit-and-run and driving under the

influence, 35-year-old Leonardo Campos Torres of Costa Mesa has also been

charged with providing false information to police. When he was arrested,

he told police he was Agustin Gonzalez Galindo, a friend of his and the

owner of the truck he was driving.

Galindo was not involved in the accident.

It was only after conducting a fingerprint test on Torres that police

learned their suspect was using a false name.

Torres not only gave police a false identity, he reportedly ran away from

the traffic accident that killed three people. He was later found nearby,

hiding in a bush.

Police believe Torres wasn’t responsible for the Dec. 21 accident, based

on accounts from witnesses.

The impact of the crash -- which happened at about 10:40 p.m. at the

intersection of Newhope Street and Warner Avenue -- killed Nestor Ramirez

Suastegui, 24, of Huntington Beach, who was driving a Ford Mustang with

several passengers. Two of those passengers, Maria Reyna Cano, 28, and

her 5-month-old boy, Brian Muyorido, also died. Two other passengers were

injured.

Witnesses said it was Suastegui who ran a red light that probably caused

the accident, authorities said.