Miguel Diego Sandoval, scorned Lancaster, California man shoots his ex girlfriend dead after she broke up with him, along with 3 roommates before burning home down to hide murders. A fifth person survives.
A California 19 year old man was taken into custody on Monday and charged with the murder of four people after breaking into a Lancaster home earlier this month and shooting his victims as they slept, including his ex girlfriend who had recently broken up with him.
Miguel Diego Sandoval allegedly shot 21-year-old Matthew Montebello, his partner Janvi Maquindang, 21; his sister, Christine Aca-ac, 26; and her fiancée Edwin Garcia, 24, inside their Lancaster home on November 16 and then set fire to the house in an attempt to cover up up the crimes, the district attorney’s office said.
Garcia, Aca-ac, and Maquindang were pronounced dead at the scene, and Montebello died at a hospital from his injuries.
Along with murder, Miguel Sandoval was also charged with one felony count of first-degree residential burglary with person present, and one felony count of arson of an inhabited structure or property, authorities announced.
According to prosecutors, Sandoval is alleged to have set the house ablaze in attempt to cover his tracks.
A fifth person was also at the house at the time, a 16-year-old girl, a sister to Aca-ac and Maquindang, who escaped being shot after hiding in a closet in her bedroom and calling 911 upon hearing gunshots in the house. She was rescued from the burning house and not physically injured, KABC reported.
‘It is further alleged that the defendant intentionally killed the victims by means of lying in wait, committed multiple murders, and used a handgun,’ prosecutors in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
According to prosecutors, Sandoval at about 1:30 a.m. on Nov. 16 allegedly broke into the victims’ residence in the 44500 block of N. Tabler Avenue in Lancaster, a city in northern Los Angeles county, where all four of the victims were asleep. Once inside, Sandoval proceeded to fatally shoot each of them, prosecutors say.
‘Sandoval then set fire to the house to cover up the crimes,’ the release states. ‘Mr. Garcia, Ms. Aca-ac, and Mr. Maquindang were pronounced dead at the scene. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies rescued Mr. Montebello from the burning house, but he later died at the hospital from his injuries.’
When first responders arrived at the home, it was completely engulfed in flames. Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control by about 2:30 a.m., which is when they made entry and discovered the bodies inside.
Montebello’s mother told KABC that her son was Maquindang’s boyfriend and that Aca-ac and Garcia were engaged to be married. She said she knew the name of the suspect but never met him — he was the ex-boyfriend of one of the siblings.
As he made his first court appearance on Tuesday, Sandoval was filmed showing up shirtless, the dailymail reported.
‘We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of these four lives, including a brother and sister, who were callously shot as they peacefully slept in their beds,’ District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement announcing the charges. ‘This shooting has devastated the Lancaster community, and our hearts go out to the victims’ families, who are suffering from this sudden, incomprehensible loss.’
Sandoval is currently being held in the Los Angeles County Jail without bond. He’s scheduled to appear in court for his arraignment on Jan. 27, 2024.
If convicted, Sandoval faces a possible sentence of life without the possibility for parole.
