Second suspect in deadly 2018 Anaheim park shooting arrested in SWAT raid in Riverside
A SWAT team from Anaheim raided a home in Riverside early Friday, arresting a man police believe was involved in a deadly Anaheim park shooting more than a year and a half ago.
Anaheim police said Fabian Santiago Mascareno, 22, was found in the home when SWAT officers served a search warrant at around 3 a.m. He surrendered, and was being held without bail Sunday at the Orange County Central Men’s Jail.
Police say Mascareno and another man — 24-year-old Hipolito Sanchez — walked up to a group of four men hanging out at Chaparral Park, 1770 West Broadway, at around 3 p.m. on Oct. 25, 2018.
It’s not clear what happened next, but police said either Mascareno or Sanchez pulled out a gun and started firing.
Bullets struck two of the men — one, Merfy Rivera, died, and another was hit but survived his injuries. Two others in the group were unharmed.
Police haven’t detailed a motive for the shooting, beyond saying they believe it was gang related.
“There was some sort of confrontation,” said Sgt. Shane Carringer. “I believe (the suspects’) gang operates in that area around the park.”
Sanchez was arrested a few days later. He was charged with one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
He has not yet been tried, Carringer said. Orange County inmate records show Sanchez is still being held without bail, and has no future court dates scheduled.
Anaheim detectives have not said who they believe actually fired the gun, or how many shots were fired. Sanchez and Mascareno were charged identically, each with one count of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
Witnesses nearby said they heard at least two shots, then shouting at around the time of the shooting.
People who live around the park also said they’d noticed an increase in groups of men smoking and drinking at the park late at night in the months prior to the shooting. Police said Sanchez was homeless, and had been seen hanging out in the area.
Rivera, the victim, was also known to police, friends said at a vigil for him in the days after the shooting. They said Rivera was in his 20s and was from Anaheim — they said he’d gotten in to trouble before, but was a good friend.
“He was one of the people who always had my back,” said Christian Sims, a 21-year-old who attended the vigil.
Carringer said Mascareno was on the run from police in the year-and-a-half it took them to finally find him in Riverside. He would not say how police tracked him down.
“He’s always been a known suspect,” he said. “He was doing everything in his power to elude capture.”
A court date has not been set for Mascareno, according to booking records.