Aliso Viejo Shooting Suspect Caught, OCSD Says

ALISO VIEJO, CA —A man suspected of brutally killing his father and his father's girlfriend, then shooting two others was arrested in Inglewood, Friday. The homicide suspect was caught at approximately 3:45 p.m. after a brief pursuit just 24-hours after the brutal shooting in Aliso Viejo, Thursday. Ferguson is currently in police custody.

Luke William Ferguson was the suspect in an Ashbury Court homicide investigation, for murdering his father, Douglas Ferguson, 59 and Lisa Cosenza, a 51-year-old resident of Aliso Viejo. Both were confirmed dead at the scene, according to a statement from Orange County Coroner's Office.

At 2:45 0n Thursday, after a 911 call to the home on Ashbury Court, in Aliso Viejo, Orange County Sheriff's Department said. Arriving deputies found two people were found dead, and another two, a 23-year-old man and a 48-year-old man, were critically injured from gunshot wounds. Their names were not released, and both are in serious condition at area hospitals.

Shortly after noon Friday, Ventura police, aided by Orange County sheriff's investigators, swarmed into a Ventura neighborhood near Dunning Street and Telegraph Road after fielding reports of a "suspect wanted in a shooting and double homicide out of Orange County that occurred yesterday" being seen in a residence.

Investigators suspected it was Ferguson, Orange County sheriff's spokeswoman Jaimee Blashaw said.

About three hours later, however, a police pursuit ended near La Cienega and Manchester boulevards, and Ferguson was taken into custody there, sheriff's officials said. It was not immediately clear where that pursuit began.

Cosenza was remembered as an outgoing, friendly and hard-working colleague by former co-workers.

"We worked really well together at the Daily Pilot," said Lana Johnson, who was the promotions director at the group of local newspapers while Cosenza was ad director.

"We collaborated on special sections," Johnson recalled. "We had a great working relationship... Her employees valued her expertise and she was very professional."
Johnson said she was "horrified and shocked" by the news.

Tom Johnson, publisher of Stu News, hired Cosenza for the real estate section and encouraged her to apply for the ad director job when he was publisher of the Times Community News papers.

"I hired her at the Pilot in the early '90s in (the) real estate department and she was very good," Tom Johnson said. "She came from a real estate family and over time I really enjoyed working with her and she worked her way up the ladder. In the early 2000s, I had an opening for ad director at the Pilot and I went to Lisa and told her she should apply for the job."

Tom Johnson added, "She was just a good, strong person to work with."
He was also saddened by the news of her killing.

"When you hear news like this, especially after everything going on it brings it so close to home. It's so awful," he said.

Cosenza was "loud," Tom Johnson said, recalling her outgoing personality.

"We worked hard and had fun doing it. It was like family," Tom Johnson said.
Another former co-worker, Vilma Hidalgo-Cruz, said Cosenza, an avid Cincinnati Bengals fan, loved working at the Pilot

She also had a "passion for life and her work," Hildalgo-Cruz said.

No weapon was found at the scene, according to reports from Orange County Register. It is not known if Luke William Ferguson was armed when he was apprehended.

Aliso Viejo Middle School was temporarily on voluntary lockdown following the reports of the gunshots. All students and faculty were able to leave the campus by 3:30 p.m. That lockdown was not part of the original incident, according to OCSD.

Read also: Sheriff's Helicopter Wakes Aliso Viejo Searching For Domestic Violence Suspect

City News Service contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy, OCSD