Police step up search after drive-by

As police continued to search for a car full of suspects who shot two men in a Costa Mesa alley Thursday, city officials said Friday they have a plan to combat the rise in violence.

“Our community is shocked over the violence which has occurred in Costa Mesa in the past several months,” Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor said in a prepared statement.

Mansoor said he will ask the City Council to approve a $10,000 reward for any information leading to those responsible for Thursday’s shooting and the Aug. 2 homicide.

In the city’s second drive-by shooting in three weeks, two men were wounded by a spray of bullets behind a Costa Mesa apartment complex in the 2900 block of Mendoza Drive Thursday.

Costa Mesa resident Orlando Ortega Bustamante, 20, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and another man was grazed by a bullet but refused treatment at the scene.

Police on Friday would not confirm whether the shooting was gang-related, but a Costa Mesa lieutenant said Thursday night it was likely the incident involved gang members.

The latest shooting a little more than two weeks after Israel Maciel, 23, was gunned down in an alley behind an apartment complex on West Baker Street. The fatal shooting, about a half mile from Thursday’s shooting, left four others wounded. No arrests have been made.

Mansoor acknowledged the community’s fear about the increasing violence but said police are doing everything they can to find the people responsible for the shootings.

“We need to work as a united council and as a united city to solve this situation,” Mansoor said.

Detectives are working overtime and gang investigators are hitting the streets to make contacts with possible gang members. The Police Department is close to adding an extra probation and parole officer, as well as two additional gang investigators, Mansoor said.

The city is going to be working with the county and the district attorney’s office to reinstate the tri-agency regional gang enforcement team that has worked in Costa Mesa in the past.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley said residents can attend a community meeting to discuss the shootings at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Sonora Elementary School, 966 Sonora Rd., in Costa Mesa.

“There’s a perception by our residents that the police aren’t doing anything, and that’s just not true. They are working overtime to try and solve all these crimes that have been occurring as of late,” Foley said.

One 18-year-old Costa Mesa man, who did not want to be identified, said he was standing outside with six of his friends when about 15 shots rang out Thursday evening.

“I dragged my homie into my house while he was bleeding,” he said.

The wounded friend is going to be fine, he said.

Standing against the garage where the gunshots left splintered marks, the 18-year-old man appeared nervous. He said the people who shot at him and his friends would probably be back. Neighbors at the scene of the shooting Friday said trouble had been brewing for a while. Kids hung out in the alley constantly, said a man who did not want his name used.

“I knew this stuff was going to happen,” he said.

Another neighbor said there had been recent tagging and several car burglaries in the area.

Jim Jones, who has lived in the neighborhood for 22 years, said he’s noticed increased crime in the area.

“I think there’s gang activity in this neighborhood, absolutely,” Jones said.

He said his neighbors are thinking of moving because of recent crime.

“The city needs to do something about it,” Jones said.

— Amanda Pennington contributed to this report.