Five may be connected to shooting

A group of suspected gang members arrested in Costa Mesa early Thursday may be linked to a shooting in Santa Ana, Costa Mesa police said Friday.

Police arrested five men at the Motel 6 at 1441 Gisler Ave. in Costa Mesa at 2 a.m. after one of the men confessed to stealing a bottle of liquor from a nearby liquor store, said Sgt. Bryan Glass.

According to police, during the arrest one of the men said his friend had shot someone in Santa Ana earlier in the night.

The men were questioned by Santa Ana gang detectives earlier that night in relation to a shooting just before 11 p.m. Wednesday in a residential area of the city but are not named as suspects in the ongoing investigation, said Santa Ana Cmdr. Tammy Franks.

The five men arrested were Adriana Correa, 27, Santa Ana; Jesus Gonzalez, 27, Santa Ana; Jorge Galindo, 28, Santa Ana; Fabian Valencia, 23, Fullerton; and Joseph Sanchez, 19, Santa Ana.

Authorities said officers approached one of the men walking near the motel early Thursday and during the conversation, the man confessed he had stolen a bottle of liquor from a nearby store.

He also said he was partying with friends in a room in Motel 6, police said.

Because the man was on probation, police opted to search the room and found a crowd of people there, Glass said.

Among the items found in the room was a handgun, a bullet-proof vest and drug paraphernalia. Three of the men were booked on suspicion of possessing an assault weapon and illegally possessing ammunition while on probation.

Franks said the man shot Wednesday is expected to survive.

Reporter JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at [email protected].