A 22-year-old man who was walking through a Santa Ana neighborhood early Saturday was shot to death by someone riding in a passing SUV, according to police.
Leoncio Banuelos, a Santa Ana resident, was the victim of the shooting around 2:35 a.m. in the 200 block of South Newhope Street, said Santa Ana Police Commander Enrique Esparza.
Banuelos actually managed to make it to his home about a block away, where police were called before the man was taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange. That's where Banuelos was later pronounced dead.
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An earlier Santa Ana Police advisory indicated a preliminary investigation had found the shooting may have occurred as the man was walking south on the eastside of Newhope. A silver colored unknown make or model sports utility vehicle (SUV) heading north on Newhope stopped upon reaching the man, when several shots were fired from the vehicle.
At least one round hit Banuelos in the upper torso, according to police, who ask that anyone with information call homicide detectives at 714.245.8390 or leave an anonymous tip with Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1.855.TIP.OCCS.
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.