SANTA ANA, Calif.—Three men were behind bars July 6 in the killing of a good Samaritan who intervened in the violent robbery of a 76-year-old man in Stanton last year. Two of them were charged for the case the following day.
Henry Diep Le, 19, of Garden Grove, and Adrian Castaneda, 19, of Anaheim were both charged with murder with special circumstances of robbery and gang activity in the killing of 49-year-old Juan Cristalinas of Santa Ana on June 28, 2022. They were also charged with attempted murder and robbery.
Damian Ivan Mayorga, 18, of Anaheim, was also booked on suspicion of the killing, but he was a juvenile at the time of the attack, so it is unclear how prosecutors will proceed with any case against him. A spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a message.
The three are accused of attacking the 76-year-old man for unknown reasons in the 7000 block of Lessue Avenue when Cristalinas, who was driving by while delivering a pizza, saw the assault, stopped, and tried to help the victim about 7:20 p.m., according to Orange County Sheriff’s Capt. Charlie Walters.
Both men were shot, and while Cristalinas was later pronounced dead at a hospital, the 76-year-old man “has made a full recovery,” Walters said.
Le was arrested at the Mexican border, Walters said. He declined to say why Le might have been at the border.
One of the suspects is accused of shooting the pair, Walters said. It was unclear if the others were armed.
Investigators used surveillance video to develop leads in the case. Walters declined to comment on whether the weapon used in the shooting was recovered.
The three suspects have gang ties, Walters said.
Mayorga and Castaneda were being held on $1 million bail. Le, who has been charged in a separate case, was being held without bail. Le is charged with possession of a destructive device in or near private habitation, possession of a destructive device, and intent to unlawfully make a destructive device, all felonies.
Le is also facing sentencing enhancements for the discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury or death, a gang member’s vicarious discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury, gang activity, discharge of a firearm, and causing great bodily injury on an elder.
Castaneda is also charged with assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, being an accessory after the fact, and carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in public and also faces sentencing enhancements for a gang member’s vicarious discharge of a gun causing great bodily injury and gang activity.
