2 Men Charged With Murder After Injured UCLA Student Dies

Charges against two gang members accused of shooting a UCLA premed student in an unprovoked attack in Pacoima this month were upgraded to murder Tuesday following the student’s death, authorities said.

Ricardo Olivares, 18, of San Fernando was shot May 19 after he was confronted by two gunmen at a convenience store where he and four friends had stopped for gas and snacks. He died Friday night at UCLA Medical Center.

Police arrested Albert Muro, 24, of Mission Hills on May 21 and Arthur Rivera, 23, of San Fernando on Thursday. Both men were charged with attempted murder but those charges were upgraded to murder Tuesday by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Police said both suspects, who are members of the same gang, are believed to have fired on Olivares.

“We have witnesses who say that both of them were armed and both were seen doing the shooting,” said Los Angeles Police Detective Gary Milligan.

Anonymous tips and witnesses’ statements led to the identification of Muro, police said. He was arrested by San Fernando police after his car was pulled over for a traffic violation.

Rivera first came to police attention after he checked into Holy Cross Medical Center about an hour after the Olivares shooting with a gunshot wound to the back. He told officers who were called by the hospital staff that he had been shot by an unknown assailant while on a street in Pacoima.

Rivera later became a suspect in the Olivares shooting when detectives learned that he and Muro were friends and members of the same gang. Milligan said investigators could not verify Rivera’s version of how he was shot.

“His story just didn’t ring true,” Milligan said. “He didn’t know who did it. He didn’t want to prosecute anybody. He just wanted to forget the whole thing.”

Rivera was arrested after witnesses to Olivares’ shooting identified him as one of the gunmen.

Milligan said it is still unknown how Rivera was shot or if it had occurred during the attack on Olivares.

Olivares and his friends were not armed. But the detective said it was possible Rivera was shot accidentally by Muro. “There is the possibility of that but we have not determined how it happened,” Milligan said.

Olivares and his friends had stopped at 12:45 a.m. at a convenience store at Laurel Canyon and Brand boulevards. Olivares walked to a nearby pay phone to make a call when he was confronted by two gunmen and shot several times, including one shot to the back of the head, when a scuffle began.

Police said Olivares and his friends were not gang members and the attack was unprovoked.

The victim, who planned to become a pediatrician after completing studies, remained in a coma and in critical condition until he died. He was a graduate of San Fernando High School where he served as vice president of the student body. He lived in an on-campus dormitory at UCLA and was on a weekend visit to his home when he went out with friends and later was shot during the confrontation.

“Right now, we have no idea as to why this confrontation took place,” Milligan said. “We haven’t been able to determine the motivation at all. The victim has no record or gang association. He was a boy from San Fernando who had made good. There is no reason for this to have happened.”