ANAHEIM : L.A. Youths Arrested in Carjacking, Killing

Two Los Angeles teen-agers have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the recent carjacking and shooting death of an Anaheim man on a Stanton street, police said.

The two juveniles, who were not identified because they are 16 and 17 years old, were arrested Wednesday night in the Los Angeles area by Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigators, said Sheriff’s Lt. Ron Wilkerson.

Los Angeles police officers were credited with initially spotting the customized brown 1981 Buick Regal stolen from 23-year-old Armando Carranza, who was shot to death a little after 9 p.m. Sunday while sitting in the car on Dale Avenue, north of Cerritos Avenue, Wilkerson said.

The LAPD “located the car and then backed off and called us,” Wilkerson said. “We watched the car and were able to arrest the two juveniles.”

The suspects had attached a Club anti-theft device on the steering wheel of the car, which was equipped with an expensive stereo system and wire wheels, along with special hydraulic devices that allows it to bounce on the street, according to Wilkerson and members of Carranza’s family.

Wilkerson said reports that a passenger in Carranza’s car might have been an accomplice in the shooting are now thought to be false. Investigators are asking for witnesses to come forward, he said. Early reports that the shooting might have been gang-related are untrue, said Jose Carranza, 21, the victim’s brother. Armando Carranza was a member of The Uniques, a lowrider car club, and was on his way home when the shooting occurred, his brother said.

“We were into car clubs, not gangs,” Carranza said.

Friends of Armando Carranza described him as a nice guy who did not cause trouble. The Orange County Lowriders Alliance has raised $1,000 toward Carranza’s funeral, which will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Covina Hills Memorial Park in West Covina. Two carwashes will be held today in Anaheim and Santa Ana to gather more money, said Eddie Beas of Santa Ana, a friend of the Carranza family.