Updated at 4:30 p.m. Thursday with victim account
Two suspects possibly linked to a rash of BB gun shootings in southwest Riverside County were arrested in Murrieta early Thursday.
Joshua Rochford, 21, of Murrieta and Nicholas Fowler, 21, of San Diego were taken into custody at about 1:41 a.m. Thursday following a rash of shootings near Scott and Briggs roads, police said today.
Murrieta police Sgt. Don Weller said Murrieta patrol units were alerted by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department that they were investigating a report of suspects driving a car around that area, shooting out windows of parked cars with a BB gun.
"The suspect vehicle seen leaving the area was described a black Infiniti G35, with a loud exhaust," the sergeant said, in a news release.
A Murrieta officer stopped a car matching that description a short time later near the intersection of Whitewood Road and Busman Avenue in Murrieta, Weller said.
Fowler, the driver, and Rochford, the passenger, were booked on suspicion of felony vandalism following evidence found in the car police believe was used during the BB gun shootings, Weller said.
"It is estimated there were over forty (40) parked vehicles in the city of Murrieta that were struck with BB’s during the night-time hours," Weller said.
Police estimated a minimum amount of damage caused by the shootings to be $4,500.
Weller added there were several other victims of the same crime in the surrounding cities of Temecula, Winchester, and Menifee during the night.
Ramon Pino, who lives on Lincoln Avenue in Murrieta, said he learned his car had been shot at when he was awoken at about 3:45 a.m. by a neighbor.
"I didn't hear anything [during the shooting], so it kind of scared me when someone rang my bell at that time in the morning," Pino told Patch.
At least three cars along Lincoln Avenue near Shivela Middle School were shot at overnight, residents told Patch.
The glass was shot out of the back window of Pino's 2001 Chevrolet Suburban. A side rear window was also damaged. Pino said according to an estimate he'd received, it would cost $1,700 to replace both windows. (See a photo of the damage attached.)
He was happy to hear two suspects were in custody.
"I am so happy they caught those guys," Pino said, noting his son's upper bedroom window was also shot at.
Fowler and Rochford, who were booked at Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta, were also accused of conspiracy to commit a crime.
Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation was asked to call the Murrieta Police Department at 951-696-3615 and ask for the on-duty watch commander. Information can also be provided anonymously through “We Tip” at 1-800-78-CRIME.
