Bryan Anthony Mares, a 23-year-old Latino, was tragically killed on March 9, 2019, in Artesia, California. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, Mares was fatally shot in the 11800 block of Arkansas Street. The incident occurred around 9:44 p.m. when Mares, who was homeless and had been staying in the Artesia area, was walking near Pioneer Boulevard. A dark-colored sedan drove by, and someone inside the vehicle began shooting.
Mares was struck by the gunfire and attempted to hide behind a parked vehicle before collapsing. He was found by a passerby who called 911. Despite being able to describe the shooter's car, Mares was pronounced dead at the hospital at 11:15 p.m. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso.
The investigation revealed that approximately 20 minutes before Mares was shot, a vehicle matching the same description, with four men inside, had been involved in another shooting just a few blocks away. In that earlier incident, a man standing near 168th Street and Clarksdale Avenue was shot in the arm and returned fire at the car. The man, identified as a gang member, survived but was uncooperative with investigators. Detectives believe the gunman's car circled back, possibly looking for the first victim, and encountered Mares, who had no gang affiliations and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Shortly after Mares was shot, deputies patrolling the area spotted a dark-blue Chevrolet Impala sedan parked on Cheshire Street in Norwalk. The car and the men standing around it matched the descriptions of the shooter's car and the four people inside. A semiautomatic pistol was recovered at the scene and was being tested to see if its bullets matched those involved in the shootings. The four suspects, identified as Anthony Martinez Garibo, 19; Adrian Angel Nunez, 18; Danny Orozco, 19; and Isaac Adam Miranda, 18, were arrested that evening. They were charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, and two counts of shooting from a vehicle. The suspects, all Latinos from Norwalk, were scheduled to be arraigned on March 18 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court Norwalk Courthouse.
The case against the suspects was built on the evidence linking them to both shootings. The suspects allegedly entered Artesia in the blue Chevrolet Impala and encountered a rival gang member, leading to a verbal altercation and gunfire exchange. After fleeing the scene, they returned and shot Mares, who was walking nearby. The suspects were held in lieu of $3.29 million bail each. The investigation and subsequent arrests highlighted the dangers of gang violence and the tragic consequences for innocent bystanders like Bryan Anthony Mares.
