4 arrested after shooting outside Ron's Place

Four men, two of whom have been identified as street gang members, are in custody following a shooting that occurred at Ron's Place early Sunday morning.

The suspects have been identified as Luis Garcia, 31, Marco Medina, 26, and Mario Alvarez, 24, all of Yuma, and Reynaldo Bejarano, 26, of Somerton.

Yuma County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Eben Bratcher said deputies responded to a report of shots fired at the bar, located at 2852 E. 16th Street, at about 2:05 a.m.

Bratcher said witnesses reported seeing the shooting suspects previously involved in a verbal altercation with some other patrons at the bar over some females.

"Apparently these guys were trying to pick up some women who were there, and it fell through," Bratcher said. "Someone who was there with the women told them to leave them alone and it made them mad."

As the suspects drove away from the bar, Bratcher said, several rounds were fired from the vehicle in the direction of the the bar. However, law enforcement officers were already en route to the scene because security at Ron's Place had already placed a call to them.

No one was hit by the gunfire and the vehicle was described as a maroon station wagon with four males.

The Yuma Police Department responded to the scene to assist YCSO, and a vehicle matching the description of the station wagon was seen near Avenue 7E and County 9th Street.

The YPD officer made a traffic stop on the vehicle and the occupants were positively identified as the suspects in the case, Bratcher said.

"We also recovered two handguns and a rifle which they had stopped to bury near the Sierra Pacific trailer park on Highway 95 shortly before they were pulled over," Bratcher said. "They didn't make it much further after that."

Bratcher said he wanted to thank the YPD for the assistance in the search for the suspects.

"They were instrumental in getting this brought to a rapid conclusion," Bratcher said. "We appreciate their assistance."

Sheriff investigators have not determined who the actual shooter was yet, Bratcher said.

The four suspects were interviewed by the YCSO Criminal Investigations bureau and eventually booked into the Yuma County Jail on various charges.

All four face possible charges of attempted murder, drive-by shooting and endangerment

Bratcher added that Garcia and Medina are known gang members and YCSO is investigating whether the other suspects are connected to gangs in any way.

All four men are scheduled to appear in Yuma Justice Court on Tuesday for their arraignment when they will find out if a criminal complaint has been filed against them.


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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.