2 arrested in shooting death of veteran who was watering his lawn in Riverside

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Two people have been arrested in the shooting death of an Army veteran who was gunned down in his front yard in Riverside.

Michael Rangel, 68, was watering his lawn last month when he was struck by gunfire from a passing car, according to the Riverside Police Department.

Surveillance video obtained by Eyewitness News shows a white, four-door vehicle approaching the home, near Heidi Road and Harmony Lane, then waiting for nearly two minutes before someone opens the driver's side door and starts shooting.

Rangel was rushed to the hospital but he died shortly after.

The Riverside Police Department continue to investigate the shooting death of an Army veteran who was gunned down in his front yard while watering his lawn.

The man accused of shooting him, Gabriel Molina, was recently arrested. The 29-year-old was booked on murder chargers and is being held on $1 million bail.

Police say Molina is a convicted felon and was in possession of a firearm when he was arrested for Rangel's murder.

Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback told Eyewitness News that Molina was arrested earlier this year for a series of armed robberies at fast-food restaurants.

Railsback said the suspect's crime spree started in the summer of 2022 with an armed robbery at a Baker's restaurant in Riverside.

Railsback says they've connected him to at least eight armed robberies in the months that followed, including one at a Del Taco near Arlington and Rutland avenues.

"When our detectives and our SWAT team actually arrested him they found a firearm on him at the time," Railsback said. "Our detectives did request a bail enhancement of a million dollars. That was denied, and so his bail was put at $250,000 and it looks like a month or two later he was able to post that bail and get out."

Just last month, there was another encounter with Riverside police, who say they were trying to pull him over for a vehicle code violation when he took off and later crashed into Joe's Sushi near Magnolia Avenue and Van Buren Boulevard.

"He was injured enough where he couldn't be booked into jail. He had to be admitted into the hospital, but charges were filed on that," Railsback said.

He added that Molina left the hospital before he could be transported to jail.

Less than two weeks later, police say Molina was the one responsible for the shooting of Rangel.

According to a criminal complaint, the shooting was gang-related.

A second suspect, identified as 28-year-old Mark Anthony Valdez, was arrested as an accessory to murder. He was later released on $10,000 bail.

Investigators have not determined a potential motive for the shooting.