Police Make Arrest in Connection to Stabbing Death of Woodland Hills Adult Student

A young man and a teenage boy were arrested Thursday in connection with the stabbing death of an 18-year-old man at Cleveland High School in nearby Reseda.

A young woman who allegedly drove the suspects away from the crime scene in a minivan was also arrested, authorities said.

Kevin Orellano of Reseda, who was also a Woodland Hills student, was fatally stabbed at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department reported.

Early Thursday morning, detectives arrested Michael Carpio, 19, of Panorama City and a 16-year-old boy whose name was withheld at a residence in the 15000 block of Roscoe Boulevard in Panorama City, and both were booked on suspicion of murder, an LAPD statement said.

Also at the residence, police arrested Michelle Pineda, 19, who is suspected of driving the suspects from the crime scene, authorities said.

Officers found a maroon minivan at the location believed to have been the getaway vehicle. Pineda was booked on suspicion of murder.

According to a preliminary report, Orellano was playing handball with another person when the suspects approached him, police said. After a brief argument, one suspect punched him and the other stabbed him with a small pocket knife, police said.

"Witnesses reported seeing the two suspects leave the school in a maroon-colored minivan driven by a young Hispanic female,'' police said in a statement.

Police said the male suspects are gang members, but the victim had no apparent gang ties.

LAPD Cmdr. Sharon Papa told the Los Angeles Times that Orellano was an adult-education student at West Valley Occupational Center in Woodland Hills.

Police do not believe the suspects are students.