Community Corner

No Arrests In Lake Elsinore's 'Presidentials' Slaying

Events unfolded Saturday when police were called to Monroe and Garfield regarding reports of an assault, according to Lt. Joe Borja of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Candles from vigils and over-the-fence talk were evidence Tuesday afternoon that something had gone terribly wrong in the Lake Elsinore neighborhood known to locals as “The Presidentials.”

“I heard a girl scream, 'Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God,'” explained Marco de la Torre, who just moved into a home at the corner of Monroe and Garfield streets. Nervous to go outside, the man peered out his window and watched as police and paramedics poured into his neighborhood Saturday night.

Shortly after 11:30 p.m., the tract development lined with streets named after U.S. presidents was a crime scene that turned into a homicide investigation involving the apparent stabbing death of 16-year-old Lakeside High School student.

Events unfolded Saturday when police were called to Monroe and Garfield regarding reports of an assault, according to Lt. Joe Borja of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

“Upon the officers' arrival they discovered two victims at the location,” Borja said.

The teen was found on the ground with serious injuries, the other person, an adult male, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, Borja said.

Both were transported to an area hospital, but the boy died from his injuries, the lieutenant explained.

Police have not confirmed the teen's cause of death was stabbing.

“The second victim … is expected to recover from his injuries. No arrests have been made at this point in the investigation. Due to the case being an ongoing investigation, the identities of both victims will not be released at this time,” Borja said.

Although police are not releasing the 16-year-old’s identity, it seems many in the neighborhood knew him. With her mother standing close by, Dayhaana Ornelas, a freshman at Lakeside, said the boy was a popular and well-liked Lancer who studied martial arts.

“He was a good kid,” she said.

According to Ornelas and chatter on the street, the slaying may have been gang related, although the freshman said she didn’t think the slain teen was a gang member.

“I heard he was trying to break up a fight,” she said.

Jasmine Gonzalez, 18, backed this story up. A Monroe Street resident, Gonzalez said she heard there was a party a few streets over and a fight ensued. One of the teen’s friends “was jumped.”

“[The 16-year-old] tried to break it up and instead he was the one who got it,” she said.

Two candlelight vigils were held Monday night in the neighborhood – one at Monroe and Garfield, the other at Madison and Buchanan streets, near where the apparent party took place.

Wally Soltz grew up in Lake Elsinore. The 31-year-old knows The Presidentials well. He was standing in his driveway on McKinley Street Tuesday afternoon. Growing up, he said the neighborhood was notorious for gang activity. There have been fewer incidents lately, he said, but what the father of three does see worries him.

“It’s gotten a whole lot better, but they are so young,” he said.

They?

“The gangs,” he said. “They’re just kids.”


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