Two arrested in connection with fatal shooting at Summer Night Lights program in Wilmington
Two people have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a "Summer Night Lights" program volunteer in Wilmington last summer.
The shooting happened on July 27, 2023, at around 10 p.m. outside of the Wilmington Recreation Center, located in the 300 block of N. Neptune Avenue, where 46-year-old Carson man Jose Quezada was volunteering at an event targeted towards keeping local youth off the street.
Los Angeles Police Department detectives say that their investigation led them to arrest 28-year-old San Pedro man Sergio Esteban on Dec. 6. He was booked on suspicion of murder and being held on $2 million bail.
More than two weeks later, a search warrant was authorized after they identified as second suspect.
"Investigators also identified Estevan Hernandez, a 27-year-old resident of San Pedro, as the second suspect responsible for the shooting of Quezada," a statement fro LAPD said. "With assistance from the LAPD-FBI Fugitive task force, Hernandez was located in Mexico and arrested on Jan. 31, 2024, by Mexican authorities."
Hernandez was also booked on suspicion of murder and is being held on $3 million bail.
Related: Another Summer Night Lights shooting leaves an already grieving family calling for justice
LAPD Captain Jamie Bennett spoke at a press conference on Thursday where authorities announced the arrests, noting that the two suspects are documented gang members and that the shooting appeared to be gang-motivated.
"I can never be in a suspect's mind, but I know they are gang members," Bennett said. "I know that they probably came to that area looking to do bad things."
Investigators say that Quezada was not in a gang, but that there were other people around the area at the time of the shooting.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass offered a statement upon learning of Quezada's death last year.
"Last night, a dedicated Wilmington community member and someone who has volunteered with Summer Night Lights to uplift his community was killed in a horrific act of violence," the statement said. "This community leader lost his life to the very type of violence he was working so hard to prevent. I join his loved ones in grieving his loss. This incident is a tragic reminder that we must fight even harder to ensure that our communities have the tools that they need to stop this senseless violence."
Summer Night Lights events are held in more than 40 locations across Los Angeles, promoting anti-gang violence and offering safe havens for families impacted by gang operations in their areas.
