LINCOLN CITY, Ore. -- Police pulled over an SUV in Lincoln City and found two people inside with gunshot wounds - one of them dead - in an incident that could be a sign of gang activity in the small, coastal community.
Police said the shooting happened at The Ridge Apartments, located just off of High School Drive in Lincoln City around 4:30 p.m., Sunday. Investigators quickly learned that an SUV had left the scene of the shooting, so officers started searching for it. They soon spotted the SUV traveling North on Hwy 101 near SE 9th and stopped it.
"Three Hispanic males were in the SUV. Two of the occupants had apparently been hit by gunfire. One was deceased in the vehicle and the other was immediately transported to Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital for treatment," said Lt. Jerry Palmer with the Lincoln City Police Department. "The third subject was cooperating with investigators."
Those two victims were identified Tuesday as Juan Antonio Suarez-Jimenez, 29, of Newport, who police said was driving the SUV, and Samuel Cruz Villegas, 29, of Toledo, OR. Police said Villegas was fatally wounded and Suarez-Jimenez was treated for gunshot wounds to his hand and abdomen.
Later, police arrested Samuel R. Fajardo-Landa, 19, along with one juveniles. Then, a SWAT team was brought in to talk a second juvenile out of a nearby apartment and that suspect was also arrested on Monday.
The names of the victims were withheld, pending notifications of family members.
The two juveniles faced several charges including murder, attempted murder and assault. Their names were not released. Fajardo-Landa was charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Palmer told KGW the Lincoln City area has never had a gang problem but police have been seeing signs of possible gang activity - including graffiti at high schools - in recent years. However, Palmer said this was the first time investigators were dealing with a violent incident that could be related to gangs.
Anyone with information that could help in the investigation was urged to call Lincoln City detectives at 541-994-3636.
