Two men arrested in fatal shooting of Army veteran outside his Riverside home
Authorities arrested two men a couple of weeks after they allegedly shot a veteran to death outside his Riverside home.
The fatal shooting happened on Oct. 28 at about 3:25 p.m. in the 8500 block of Harmony Lane. The victim, 68-year-old Michael Rangel, walked outside to his front yard when two men inside a passing car allegedly gunned him down for no apparent reason.
"It just makes no sense, we're still puzzled. We want to know who and why and what would motivate someone to do this to a 68-year-old man who was harmless," his daughter Monica Rangel said.
Over the next two weeks, detectives identified the shooter as 29-year-old Gabriel Molina and his accomplice 28-year-old Mark Anthony Valdez.
Officers booked Molina into Robert Presley Detention Center on murder charges. He's being held in lieu of a $1 million bond. Last year, Molina perpetrated several armed robberies at fast-food restaurants in Riverside and Moreno Valley, according to the Riverside Police Department. He posted a $250,000 bond to be released from jail. While out on bail, he led police on a high-speed chase before crashing his care into a local business
Officers arrested Molina, a convicted felon, following the crash and discovered a firearm inside his vehicle. When officers arrested him again for Rangel's death, they recovered another firearm.
Authorities booked Valdez on accessory to murder charges but he was released on a $10,000 bail.
Authorities urged anyone with information on this case to contact investigators at (951) 353-7135 or (951) 353-7103.