19-year-old arrested in shooting deaths of 4 people found inside burning home in Lancaster
LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) -- Police have arrested a 19-year-old suspect in the grisly murder and house fire that occurred in Lancaster last weekend.
Detectives say that Miguel Sandoval, 19, of Lancaster, was arrested on four counts of murder.
The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for filing consideration on Monday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said.
On Saturday, investigators discovered the shooting victims inside the home in the 44500 block of North Tabler Avenue. Three people were killed and a fourth was rushed to the hospital but later died.
The victims were identified as Janvi Maquindang, 21, of Lancaster; Edwin Garcia, 24; and Christine Aca-ac, 26, and Matthew Montebello.
Soon after deputies arrived, firefighters were dispatched to the one-story home and extinguished the fire in less than an hour, the L.A. County Fire Department said.
Maquindang, Garcia and Aca-ac were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. A fourth person was transported to a hospital in critical condition and died the following evening.
A 16-year-old girl was also at the home at the time of the incident and hid as she called 911. She was not hurt.
The motive for the shooting and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. Investigators believe this was an isolated incident.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting was urged to call the sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Callers who wish to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.
