A Long Beach man was charged today with two counts of murder in connection with the recent shooting deaths of an 18-year-old and 26-year-old, according to the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD).
Jorge Omar Chavez, 36, was charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for the murders of Manuel Arechiga, 18, on November 1 and Elijah Brown, 26, on November 5. Both men were from Long Beach. The charges against Chavez included the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and one special circumstance allegation of lying in wait for the victim, LADA spokesman Ricardo Santiago said.
Long Beach homicide detectives were able to identify Chavez as the same suspect in both incidents by examining evidence at scenes as well as witness statements, according to a release from the LBPD.
Officers were then able to arrest Chavez at his Long Beach residence on Friday, November 11, and present the case to the district attorney’s office on Tuesday, November 15, officials stated. He is being held without bail at Long Beach City Jail.
Authorities previously stated that they were investigating Brown’s death as possibly gang-related. He was fatally shot on the 2300 block of Spaulding Street in the city’s MacArthur Park neighborhood. Arechiga was shot and killed on the 600 block of East 9th Street.
The investigations remain ongoing. Anyone with information regarding either incident is asked to contact the Long Beach Police Homicide Detail at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted through “LA Crime Stoppers” by calling 1 (800) 222-TIPS (8477), downloading the “P3 Tips” app to your smart phone (available at the Apple App store and Google Play), or visiting www.LACrimeStoppers.org.
This story was updated at 5:38PM with more information on Chavez’s charges provided by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.