Arrests in LA-area Halloween crash that killed 3

[Omaha Steve]

Last edited Mon Nov 3, 2014, 07:46 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: AP-Excite

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police have made multiple arrests in connection with the Halloween hit-and-run deaths of three teenage girls who were out trick-or-treating in a Los Angeles suburb, authorities said Sunday.

Santa Ana police said officers made the arrests as of Sunday morning. They declined to provide additional details ahead of a news conference scheduled for Monday.

Authorities say 13-year-old twin sisters and a 13-year-old friend were struck and killed Friday night in a Santa Ana crosswalk after they went out trick-or-treating. A damaged black Honda SUV was found a short distance from where the collision occurred.

A witness told the Los Angeles Times the girls were wearing costumes with black leggings and dark clothing when they were hit in a crosswalk near an elementary school about 6:45 p.m. Friday.

FULL story at link.



Brianna Diaz, 12, left, and Sandra Anderson, 13, of Orange, Calif. light a candle at a street-side memorial at North Jacaranda Street and Fairhaven Avenue in Santa Ana, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014 for three teenage trick-or-treaters killed in a Friday night hit-and-run accident. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Ken Steinhardt)

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20141103/us--trick-or-treaters_killed-d6b0410bcd.html

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GoFundMe accounts for the girls' funerals totaled more than $37,000 in donations as of Sunday night. Anyone who wishes to donate can visit the following links:

Donation page for Lexandra and Lexi: www.gofundme.com/gl7l4s.

Donation pages for Andrea Gonzalez: www.gofundme.com/gm352k and www.gofundme.com/andreagonzalez

[C Moon]

1. Strange that the owner would have parked the SUV in a nearby lot...

it almost sounds like the SUV was stolen.
I hope they catch the real killers.
That was a very, very, very sad night.

[rocktivity]

3. Maybe the occupants just panicked and ran for it

If that's the case, it would simply a matter of the cops tracking down the registration, I guess.

They must have been driving awfully fast to cause so much carnage on a residential street. Maybe the occupants were arguing and the driver wasn't paying attention...


rocktivity

[Blue_Tires]

7. I've seen cases of teenagers running pretty frequently

especially if they slipped out of the house without mom and dad noticing, so I won't be surprised if one was the driver...

[C Moon]

8. Sounds true.

[rollin74]

10. the suspect is a 31 year old man

he has 2 kids of his own

[IkeRepublican]

2. Where's that in the article?

I get what you're implying and it's nauseating.

[4139]

4. Five people have been arrested...

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Arrests-Made-in-Santa-Ana-Hit-and-Run-That-Killed-Three-Girls-281238781.html


5?????

[rocktivity]

5. "The names of the suspects have not been released" -- are they minors?

"We've done a very strong effort...in order to find (the) individuals..." Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido said..."This is a street where cars can go fast, it's just the nature of the street. So we're going to see what we can do to make it safer."

One doesn't drag race in Honda CRVs, though they're certainly capable of holding five people. So that leaves joy riding, distracted driving, DUI, or DWI...


rocktivity

[Mz Pip]

6. I can't imagine what the families are going through

Losing a child to such a senseless tragedy is more than I can imagine. My thoughts go out to the families of these kids.

I'm glad they made an arrest.

[rollin74]

9. update on the arrest from NBCLA

Numerous witnesses and police surveillance led investigators to the Stanton motel where they arrested a 31-year-old man after a hit-and-run that killed three teen girls Halloween night in Santa Ana, police said Monday.

Jaquinn Ramone Bell was found at a Motel 6 on Sunday with his two children and two other adults after a multi-agency investigation, Santa Ana Police Chief Carlos Rojas said.

Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido had said Sunday that five people were arrested in connection with the hit-and-run, but police announced Monday that they had arrested only Bell and had released the two adults. Bell's children were taken into protective custody, Rojas said.

The search for Bell began when Andrea Gonzalez and her twin friends Lexi and Lexandra Perez, all 13, were fatally struck by an SUV that was later found ditched about three blocks away Friday night. Police said the girls were walking in a crosswalk when they were hit.


http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/More-Details-to-be-Released-in-Halloween-Hit-and-Run-Arrests-Teens-Santa-Ana-Lexi-Lexandra-Perez-Andrea-Gonzalez-281312131.html

[Crabby Appleton]

11. Driver currently on probation for DUI and hit-and-run

A 31-year-old man arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run driving in the Halloween collision in Santa Ana that left three girls dead has a years-long criminal history and was driving on a suspended license, court records show.

Jaquinn Bell, a resident of Orange, was arrested Sunday outside a Motel 6 in Stanton, Santa Ana police said at a Monday news conference. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Court records in Orange County Superior Court show that Bell was convicted of hit-and-run driving and driving under the influence in August.

more..

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-halloween-hitandrun-deaths-3-girls-20141103-story.html

[rocktivity]

12. He was arrested for the EXACT SAME THING barely three months ago?

And with his children in protective custody, I guess it's a safe bet that neither of the other two adults with him was their mother!


rocktivity

[wordpix]

13. "years-long criminal history" - the guy sounds like my employee's neighbor

A dangerous guy with a drinking problem, who kept his child home all day instead of sending him to school b/c he and his wife were undocumented, moved into the apt. under my employee's. This guy and his crew had loud parties and when my employee complained, he did things like accuse her of breaking a window he broke while drunk, slash her tires and threaten her with a gun. I helped her write a complaint to ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) but they did nothing.

It seems that there were plenty of warnings about Bell, too, but law enforcement was too slow to arrest him. Even when told there's a bad actor in the neighborhood who's illegally in the country, there's no action.