Three teens were arrested Thursday for a shooting that killed a pizza delivery driver in Stanton who was stopping to help an assault victim in 2022.
The suspects were identified as Henry Diep Le, 19, from Garden Grove, Adrian Castaneda, 19, and Damian Ivan Mayorga,18, both from Anaheim.
The suspects are accused of their involvement in a shooting that killed Juan Cristalinas, 49, a Santa Ana resident and left a 76-year-old man hospitalized, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Last June, authorities responded to the 7000 block of Lessue Avenue on a call of unknown trouble.
Arriving deputies found both victims lying on the street with gunshot wounds.
It was later discovered that Cristalinas was a pizza delivery driver who had stopped driving and hopped out to intervene when the 76-year-old victim was being assaulted by the suspects.
Both men were transported to the hospital where Cristalinas later died. The unidentified 76-year-old man was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspects had fled the location prior to deputies’ arrival. At the time, O.C. deputies called the crime a “tragic incident.”
Sally Cox, a neighbor, told KTLA she thought several fireworks had gone off. Moments later, she heard a noise at her door thinking it was the pizza she had ordered.
Her neighbor told her there had been a shooting, and Cox later discovered her pizza delivery driver was the victim.
Shooting suspects (from left) Damian Mayorga, Henry Diep Le, and Adrian Castaneda are seen in photos released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department on July 6, 2023.
Over the last year, homicide investigators and multiple agencies worked to identify the assailants. Following search warrants, all three suspects were arrested and booked on suspicion of murder.
The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information is encouraged to call
O.C. Sheriff Homicide investigators at 714-647-7000 or submit anonymous tips through
Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.