Shooting leaves one in critical condition Three...

Shooting leaves one in critical condition

Three men were arrested after an argument turned into a shooting

Friday and left one man in critical condition.

Andy Ontiveros and Jose Montenegro of Paramount were arrested on

suspicion of attempted murder after a juvenile on a bicycle was shot.

A third suspect is a juvenile.

Four bicyclists were riding on Beach Boulevard near Warner Avenue

at about 4 p.m. Friday when they were confronted by three men in a

silver Honda, police said.

“It seems there was a dispute between [the men in the car] and the

victim,” Sgt. Gary Meza said. “But we don’t know anything at this

point.”

The victim of the gunshot wound was taken to the UC Irvine

Hospital in critical condition, Meza said. There are no updates on

his condition.

Shawn Silva, 27, of Huntington Beach, who was with the victim,

suffered minor scrapes and bumps on the head, Huntington Beach police

Lt. Dan Johnson said.

Beach Boulevard was closed for several hours after the shooting,

Johnson said.

“Closing Beach Boulevard at 4 p.m. -- I am sure it had a huge

effect [on traffic],” he said.

The conflict started when the men in the car threw something out

of the window, Johnson said. There is no known relationship between

the victim and the suspects.

The Honda fled northbound on Beach Boulevard, and police followed

the car to the Huntington Creek Apartments, where the suspects fled

on foot, police said.

Two men were taken into custody right away. The third man escaped

and was later apprehended by a California Highway Patrol officer on

the San Diego Freeway near Magnolia Street.

Police bust prostitution ring

Police arrested 19 people in connection with a prostitution ring

out of a Huntington Beach acupuncture business.

The two women who were arrested on suspicion of prostitution at

the business on 7368 Center Drive were Chinese nationals, Huntington

Beach Police Lt. Dan Johnson said.

Four business managers were arrested, and 13 men were suspected of

soliciting prostitutes. The arrests were made on April 1.

“That was kind of cute. Thirteen men came in for purposes of

prostitution and got arrested on April Fool’s Day” Johnson said. “It

sounds like a TV show.”

The Huntington Beach business was closed down after police

obtained search warrants and took over the business. The 13 men came

in that day wanting the services of a prostitute, Johnson said.

Numerous other arrests were made in Los Angeles County, and six

others were arrested in Orange, Newport Beach, Aliso Viejo and Costa

Mesa, he said.

Investigations began in April of last year when police officers

saw an advertisement in the OC Weekly for a massage and therapy

business, including bubble baths, run out of a Huntington Beach

apartment.

“The apartment number was 69, which we thought was humorous,”

Johnson said.

Undercover officers were approached by the women twice before they

obtained a search warrant, which revealed documents leading to other

cases, he said.

Police put together a large case that combined the efforts of

police departments in Los Angeles and Orange County.

“The women were all Chinese and they responded to ads on an

Internet site or Chinese-language newspapers in L.A. county, which

were pretty explicit about what they were going to be doing,” Johnson

said. “The people running the business probably thought there aren’t

too many cops that speak Chinese, they probably won’t notice.”

Charges filed against former coach

Criminal charges have been filed against Brian Akian, a former

girls’ water polo coach at Marina High School who was fired last year

for videotaping students through a peephole in the school locker

room.

Akian, 27, has been charged with misdemeanor invasion of privacy

and is scheduled to surrender himself to the court on April 18, said

Michelle Emard, director of media relations for the Orange County

district attorney.

He had been an assistant walk-on water polo and swimming coach and

was fired from his position at the high school shortly after

allegations were made, Huntington Beach police Lt. Dan Johnson said.

Akian is being accused of videotaping the teenage athletes

secretly, catching them at various stages of undress.

“It’s just horrible,” she said. “Because these are the people we

trust our kids with.”

Man convicted for 1999 murder

Victor Miranda-Guerrero was convicted last week for the rape and

murder of Bridgette Ballas on a Huntington Beach street in November

1999.

The decision could mean the death sentence for Miranda-Guerrero.

“The penalty phase is the next stage,” Huntington Beach Police Lt.

Dan Johnson said.

The two possibilities for Miranda-Guerrero are life without parole

or a death sentence, he said.

Ballas, a 29 year-old Calvin Klein account executive, died two

days after she was discovered lying by the curb unconscious at 6:30

a.m. in the 900 block of Huntington Street, police said. She had

spent the evening with friends and was last seen walking back to her

apartment.

In 1999, the city offered at $25,000 reward for information

leading to an arrest, but it wasn’t until months later that

Miranda-Guerrero was connected to the murder, when he was arrested

for attacking five women Downtown.

Miranda-Guerrero, a 21-year old Huntington Beach resident, had

worked as a cook at several local restaurants.

Sentencing begins today in Orange County.