3 Arrested In Venice In Drug Deal Turned Deadly: Police

VENICE, CA —Three Arizona men, captured outside a Venice Beach hotel, were charged Tuesday in connection with what police say was a deadly marijuana deal in Garden Grove.

Victor Rene Larios, 29, and Joseph Anthony Ruiz, 27, are each charged with murder, robbery and other counts stemming from the killing of 32-year-old Thien Hoang Phan of Irvine.

Ruiz's cousin, Jacob Alexander Ruiz, 24, is charged with robbery.

All three men are being held on $1 million bail, with arraignment expected sometime Tuesday at the Central Jail, according to Garden Grove Lt. Carl Whitney.

On Sunday, a man was found dead in an alley in Garden Grove, on the 9600 block of Westminster Avenue, Whitney said.

A partner of Phan's, who was at the drug deal, managed to get away without getting injured and later called the police, Whitney said.

Working through the night, Monday, Garden Grove Police located their suspects. They conducted a "high-risk car stop" and arrested the three suspects as they left a hotel in Venice Beach after midnight, Whitney said.

The trio conducted business with Phan in the past, "though the most recent transaction ended after a dispute over money, triggering the shooting," Whitney alleged.

This crime was the third drug-related killing this year in Garden Grove, according to the lieutenant.

The increase in violent drug crimes stems from criminals from states where marijuana is illegal coming to California, where recreational use of the drug is legal, Whitney posited. "These incidents each took place outside the operation of legal marijuana businesses, and are not linked to each other," Whitney said. The motive for each incident has been robbery for cash or illegal narcotics.

On April 29, a suspect attempted to rob a drug courier for cash at a stash house for marijuana sales in the 12000 block of Corvette Street, Whitney said. The courier claimed he gunned down 35-year-old Brandon Nicholas Ross in an act of self-defense, Whitney said.

On July 8, 25-year-old Shon Xavier Hall was killed in a home-invasion robbery in the 9100 block of La Grand Avenue, Whitney said.

The suspects demanded cash and narcotics from the victim, Whitney said. No arrests have been made in that killing.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.