A man from Lake Elsinore and another from Canyon Lake -- both of them suspected gang members -- were behind bars Saturday following the report of a robbery and shooting in Temecula, during a drug deal gone wrong, officials said.
Christopher Newsome, 23, of Lake Elsinore, and Jordan Kozee-Stoltz, 22, of Canyon Lake, were booked into the Southwest Detention Center.
Newsome was booked on suspicion of kidnapping, robbery, false imprisonment and attempted murder and was being held in lieu of $1 million bail, pending arraignment Tuesday.
Kozee-Stolte was booked on the same charges and was also being held in lieu of $1 million, pending arraignment Tuesday.
No information was available on the 17-year-old youth, other than that he was booked on the same charges as the adults.
On Friday, just after midnight, two people drove into the area of Romero Drive and Silky Pass, in Temecula, a sheriff's sergeant said.
They met with three other people who had driven into that area in order to conduct an illegal drug sale with them, according to Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Kevin McDonald.
One man waited in the vehicle while his companion got into the other vehicle, the sergeant said.
The three people in the drug-dealing vehicle robbed the would-be customer at gunpoint, McDonald said.
The victim got out of the suspect's car and ran, getting into his companion's vehicle and driving off, the sergeant said.
The other vehicle chased the first vehicle and its occupants fired several rounds at the two would-be customers, McDonald said.
Officers quickly arrived on scene, caught up with both the victim and suspect vehicles, and detained all parties pending the outcome of the investigation, McDonald said.
Following the detainment, investigators searched the area and recovered three pistols and illegal drugs that were apparently dumped by the suspects as officers arrived on scene.
Later that day, Temecula police served a search warrant in the 36000 Block of Bastiano Lane, in French Valley, as part of the investigation.
At the same time, officers from the Riverside County Gang Task Force served search warrants in Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake in furtherance of this investigation.
"The purpose of these search warrants was to collect evidence showing the three suspects involved in the attempted murder and robbery case were active gang members," McDonald wrote in a news release.
"As a result of evidence collected during these three search warrants, additional charges carrying sentencing enhancements will be filed against these suspects," McDonald wrote in a news release.
