Man, 19, charged with killing 4 people as they slept at Lancaster home

A 19-year-old man is facing murder charges for allegedly shooting four people to death as they slept inside a home in Lancaster, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. 

Miguel Diego Sandoval is accused of breaking into the home during the early morning hours of Nov. 16 and killing Christine Aca-ac, 29, her 24-year-old brother Janvi Maquindang, Edwin Garcia, 24; and Matthew Montebello, 23, before allegedly setting the house on fire. While deputies pulled the four victims and another person from the burning home, three of them were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Montebello later died from his injuries at a hospital while a fifth victim, who called 911, survived.

"We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of these four lives, including a brother and sister, who were callously shot as they peacefully slept in their beds," District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement Tuesday announcing the charges.

 At 1:27 a.m., a teenage girl inside the house made the 911 call, according to the LA County Sheriff's Department. 

"She stayed in her room because she was scared, and that's when the deputies were able to locate her, extract her from the home," LASD Detective Steve DeJong said of the 911 caller. "She probably could have suffered some life-threatening injuries."

She told authorities multiple people had been shot inside the house, located in the 44500 block of North Tabler Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. When deputies arrived, they found the home fully engulfed in heavy smoke and flames.

Hours after the Nov. 16 killings, around 4 a.m., the fire department said one person was in custody. But a few hour later, around 8 a.m., sheriff's officials said no one had been arrested. Deputies said later that night that they didn't have any leads on suspects and the killer may have been one of the people who died. 

But the following week, on Nov. 21, the LA County Sheriff's Department announced the arrest of Sandoval. Five days later, on Tuesday, the DA's office announced the filing of criminal charges including four counts of murder, one felony count of first-degree residential burglary with person present and one felony count of arson of an inhabited structure or property.    

Prosecutors have also filed special allegations — which potentially carry sentencing enhancements — of intentionally killing the victims by means of lying in wait, committing multiple murders and using a handgun during the crime. 

Sandoval is set to be arraigned on Jan. 27 at the Michael D. Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse in Lancaster. He is currently being held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, inmate records show.

If convicted of all charges, prosecutors said Sandoval faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.