4 arrested after man, woman fatally shot in San Jacinto

SAN JACINTO, Calif. (KABC) -- Four people were arrested in connection with the murders of a man and a woman found shot to death in their car in San Jacinto last week.

Last Wednesday shortly before noon, Riverside County sheriff's officials were dispatched to a call regarding some type of trouble in the area of Ramona Expressway and North Warren Road.

Responding deputies found a man and woman shot in a vehicle. Both were transported to an area hospital, but they succumbed to their injuries. They were later identified as Lauren Lopez and Patrick Powell.

Following further investigation, homicide detectives secured search warrants for two residences in the city of Hemet - one in the 300 block of Monte Vista Way and the other in the 100 block of La Amistad Way.

A SWAT team served the warrants earlier this week without incident.

Four people were subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder: Ariel Savoie, 19, Kenneth Wilson, 18, Martel Patrick McBride, 18, and Alexis Mary Garcia, 19.

Savoie, Wilson and McBride live in Hemet, and Garcia resides in the Valle Vista area.

The four were arraigned Friday, and the victims' families were in court.

Christina Lopez, the mother of 19-year-old Lauren Lopez, spoke after the court hearing. Family members said Lauren Lopez and 21-year-old Powell were friends and not romantically involved.

"She was a beautiful soul, my baby, that I'll never see again," she said.

Authorities said all four suspects were in another car, they drove up to the vehicle the victims were in and that Wilson is suspected of getting out and shooting the pair.

"They're very good kids. We'd never had a problem with them," one neighbor of Wilson said. "They just got mixed up in something, like I said, that was a heat-of-the-moment situation and couldn't get out of it."

Authorities said Savoie is the cousin of Lauren Lopez. They also said Savoie shared a child with Powell, and authorities can only speculate that Powell was the target and Lopez was killed just because she was in the vehicle.

If you have any relevant information about this ongoing investigation, you're urged to contact Investigator Gomez at (760) 393-3527.