2 men shot Monday remain in hospital

Two men remained hospitalized Tuesday after being shot with a single

bullet during a confrontation with a former landlord in Costa Mesa,

police said.

The shooting occurred Monday night outside the landlord’s home in

the 3000 block of Donnybrook Lane. Police said one of the injured men

and three acquaintances went to the landlord’s home because of a

dispute over missing property. Police are withholding all names.

The confrontation escalated, and the landlord drew a 9-millimeter

handgun and shot one man in the shoulder. That bullet passed through

him and hit a second man in the chest. Both men remained hospitalized

and in stable condition Tuesday. Police said their initial

investigation indicated that the landlord fired in self-defense.

Police are still looking for another man believed to have

accompanied the former tenant to the landlord’s home.

Costa Mesa man pleads not guilty in rape case

A Costa Mesa man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of raping

two women who lived in his apartment complex in the 600 block of West

Baker Street.

Jose Fernandez Lopez is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail

pending a preliminary hearing Aug. 25. Lopez is charged with raping a

46-year-old woman in September 2004 and a 65-year-old woman in May

2005.

Both women lived alone and were raped early in the morning.