Two California men in their late twenties were arrested this week for allegedly killing a 68-year-old grandfather and veteran, fatally shooting him in broad daylight while he was standing on his own front lawn. Gabriel Molina, 29, and his alleged accomplice Mark Anthony Valdez, 28, were taken into custody and charged in connection with the last month’s slaying of Michael Rangel, authorities announced.
Molina is facing murder charges while Valdez was charged with one count of accessory to murder.
According to a press release from the Riverside Police Department, RPD officers and paramedics with the Riverside Fire Department at about 3:26 p.m. on Oct. 28 responded to numerous reports of multiple shots being fired and an adult male being injured outside of a residence located in the 8500 block of Harmony Lane.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located the victim — later identified as Rangel — and began lifesaving measures before transporting him to a local hospital for treatment. Unfortunately, Rangel succumbed to his injuries a short while after arriving at the facility and was pronounced dead.
Gabriel Molina and Mark Anthony Valdez (Riverside Police Dept.)
Detectives with the department’s Robbery – Homicide Unit and Gang Intelligence Unit, along with specialists from the Forensics Unit, were dispatched to the location and assumed control of the investigation.
“The initial investigation revealed the victim was in his front yard when he was struck by gunfire coming from a passing vehicle,” police wrote in the release. “Over the next couple of weeks, detectives were able to identify the shooting suspect as 29-year-old Gabriel Molina of Riverside.”
Valdez was also identified as taking part in the shooting and was subsequently arrested.
Both men were booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center. Molina is currently being held on $1 million bond while Valdez was released after posting bond of $10,000.
The murder charge against Molina is far from his first run-in with the law, according to authorities.
“Gabriel Molina is a convicted felon who was out on $250,000 bail for a series of fast food restaurant armed robberies that occurred between June and December of 2022 in Riverside and Moreno Valley,” police wrote. “While out on bail, he fled from the police at a high rate of speed and crashed his vehicle into a business. He seriously injured his passenger in the crash and was illegally in possession of another firearm.”
Molina was also injured in the crash and had to be transported to a local hospital for treatment. However, he managed to flee the facility before authorities could transport him to jail, Los Angeles ABC affiliate KABC reported.
Police said they’ve linked Molina to at least eight fast food restaurant robberies, Los Angeles CW affiliate KTLA reported. During each robbery, he would allegedly take the cash from the register, direct all of the employees into a back office that could be locked or barricaded shut, then steal one of the employees’ cars and flee the scene.
Police added that during his latest arrest for Rangel’s murder, Molina was also found to be illegally in possession of a firearm.
Surveillance footage of the shooting obtained by KABC reportedly showed Rangel watering his lawn as a white, four-door sedan came down his street and then stopped for just under two minutes. A man believed to be Molina is then seen opening the driver’s side door and opening fire at the U.S. Army veteran.
Authorities have not speculated about a potential motive for the shooting but said it is believed to be gang-related, per KABC.
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