LOS ANGELES — A groom was beaten to death by two men who crashed his wedding reception, which was being held in a backyard east of Los Angeles, authorities said.
Two suspects were arrested Sunday afternoon in the city of Chino, Calif., hours after the groom, 30-year-old Joe Steven Melgoza was found a block from the party suffering from head trauma, police said. He died at a hospital.
Police said they responded to a report of a fight at 2:20 a.m. Sunday and found a large crowd and two victims with minor injuries. Officers then learned another possible victim was missing and later found Melgoza in the backyard of another residence.
The assailants had crashed the wedding party and had been asked to leave, Sgt. Dustin Tomicic said.
Investigators identified the suspects as Rony Aristides Castaneda Ramirez, 28, and his brother, Josue Daniel Castaneda Ramirez, 19. Both were arrested for investigation of murder at their nearby home and were expected to make a court appearance Tuesday, Tomicic said.
He did not know if the brothers had obtained lawyers.
“My brother did not deserve to die like that, he was a good man, he was a solid man,” Andy Velasquez, Melgoza’s brother, told KNBC-TV as he wept.
A gofundme page was set up to request donations to pay for the funeral and support his 11-year-old daughter.
“He was taken from us in such a tragic and horrific way,” Melgoza’s cousin Alice Alvarez wrote. “He leaves behind his daughter Lilly who will be in good hands with Joe’s family.
“He always had a way to make you smile,” she added.
