Mission Viejo Residents Arraigned In Brutal Machete Murder

MISSION VIEJO, CA — Two Mission Viejo men and Lake Forest woman were scheduled to be arraigned on charges of killing a rival gang member and injuring his girlfriend at a Lake Forest apartment in early October.

Jose Rafael Andrade Membreno, 22, of Mission Viejo, Xiomara Elizabeth Berrios, 18, of Lake Forest, and Edwin Francisco Diaz, 18, of Mission Viejo, were charged earlier this month with the Oct. 1 fatal stabbing of one victim, identified only as Marco M.

Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, declined to release the victim's identity, citing the ongoing investigation, but said he was in a rival gang.

The victim's girlfriend, who was also not identified, was stabbed in the chest, but survived. Both of the victims were attacked with knives and machetes about 2:30 a.m. at the Forest Glen Apartments in Lake Forest, prosecutors said.

The three defendants are charged with murder and criminal threats, with a sentencing enhancement for gang activity. Berrios is additionally charged with assault with a deadly weapon; Membreno faces a sentencing enhancement for the personal use of a machete; and Berrios and Diaz face sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a knife.

Read also: Lake Forest Machete Murder: Couple Charged In Brutal Crime

Photos courtesy Orange County Sheriff's Department