Man Jailed in Fatal Shooting of Friend

A 21-year-old Brea man was in custody Friday for allegedly shooting a 16-year-old friend to death, police said.

Benjamin E. Jones, 21, was being held Friday on $250,000 bail at the Orange County jail on suspicion of murder after surrendering to police at the scene of the shooting the night before, officials said.

The victim, David Yniguez of Brea, died Thursday night at Brea Community Hospital from a gunshot wound to the back of the neck, according to Brea police Sgt. Martin Needham.

Needham said the victim was shot about 9:30 p.m. Thursday while gathering with friends in the garage of Jones’ home in the 1000 block of Dorothy Drive.

A relative who answered the phone at the home Friday declined comment and asked not to be named referred to the shooting as “an accident.”

Police and paramedics responded to a shooting report at the home and found the wounded teen. After talking to witnesses, police took Jones to the police station for questioning and he was later booked on suspicion of murder, officials said.

An autopsy was performed Friday morning on Yniguez’s body, and investigators were continuing their efforts to piece together the events that led up to the shooting, Needham said.

An early report by one police official suggested the death was being investigated as an accidental shooting, but Needham said it was too early to make that distinction.

“We look at everything, and information is too preliminary for me to say more than that,” Needham said.