Behind the Badge
A Santa Ana man has been convicted of murder in a gang-related shooting of two teens the afternoon of October 2, 2015 in Garden Grove.
Adrian De La Riva, 27, was found guilty on Feb. 14 of first degree murder, with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity, attempted murder, attempted premeditated murder, and for vicarious discharging of a firearm causing great bodily injury, court records show.
A man in a Jeep had fired several rounds at two teens, shooting a 16-year-old in the upper torso and 17-year-old Francisco Salgado in the upper arm. The 16-year-old died at the scene, and Salgado was taken to UCI Medical Center.
Garden Grove Police arrested De La Riva after his red Jeep Cherokee matched surveillance images of the vehicle at the scene of the shooting, near a playground at an apartment complex in the 12600 block of Keel Avenue, Det. Michael Farley said.
The Garden Grove Police Department sent local law enforcement agencies the images of the Jeep with its distinctive marks and stickers. Several days after the shooting, a Santa Ana school police officer saw the Jeep at Fairview Street and First Street, pulled the car over, and detained De La Riva, who is the car’s owner and was in the passenger seat.
De La Riva denied being involved in the shooting, and authorities didn’t have enough evidence to hold him at the time, Farley said.
Once evidence from the scene was processed, Farley said, the police obtained DNA that identified De La Riva as the prime suspect and served search warrants on his home in the 600 block of West Washington Street in Santa Ana. Officials also placed him at the scene via his cell phone, Farley said.
De La Riva was arrested in March 2016 and held on $1 million bail; he will remain in custody until his sentencing. Sentencing is scheduled for April 27, 2018.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Det. Farley at 714-741-5877.
