Two Suspects ID'd in Lake Elsinore Triple Homicide Following Months-Long Investigation

SAN BERNARDINO, CA - Two ex-convicts accused of fatally shooting three people in a gang-related attack in Lake Elsinore are behind bars in San Bernardino County Wednesday, awaiting arraignment on murder and other charges.

According to Riverside County Sheriff's Sgt. Wallace Clear, on Dec. 21 — nearly four-and-a-half months after a grisly murder scene was discovered in a Lake Elsinore neighborhood — authorities had enough information to charge Saul Arevalo Jr., 33, and Mario Cruz Lopez, 38, with three counts of murder and "several associated felonies."

The men are accused of gunning down 55-year-old Cameron Craven, 57-year-old Robert Kushner and 31-year-old Rachel Rupp -- all of Lake Elsinore -- on Aug. 2.

Clear said Arevalo and Lopez were identified as the alleged perpetrators earlier this month and were located last week in the Central Jail in San Bernardino, where Arevalo was being held on suspicion of gang activity and being a convicted felon in possession of illegal drugs and a firearm. Lopez is serving time for domestic violence.

The pair were questioned and arrested while in custody, Clear said. Each defendant is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of criminal street gang activity, with special circumstance allegations of taking multiple lives in the same crime and killing for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

They're being held without bail and are expected to be transferred to Riverside County correctional facilities in the coming weeks. An arraignment date has not been set.

According to Clear, the victims were found about 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 2 at a residence in the 31000 block of Wisconsin Street. Each occupant had been shot to death.

The reasons they were targeted were not disclosed.

According to court records, both Arevalo and Lopez have served time in state prison within the last five years.

Arevalo's prior convictions include being a felon in possession of a firearm, being a felon in possession of ammunition and receiving stolen property. In addition to domestic violence, Lopez has prior convictions for theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm, court records showed.

— City News Service contributed to this report / Images via Riverside County Sheriff's Department