HUNTINGTON BEACH – A Colorado man will be arraigned Monday, May 15, for the cold case murder of two men in downtown Huntington Beach in 1994.
The Huntington Beach Police Department reopened the case last year and sought the Orange County Cold Case Homicide Task Force for assistance.
With newly developed evidence, Lamberto Ricci Castillo, 64, was arrested on April 27 in Alamosa, where he lived, and was charged with two felony counts of murder, according to a press release from the police department and Orange County District Attorney issued Sunday, May 14.
Castillo is accused of verbally confronting Chen “Cosmo” Maui Blanchard and Kenny Paul Sommer, both 23, as they were socializing near Main Street and Orange Avenue on the evening of March 31, 1994. Castillo is accused of walking away after the argument and returning to the scene around 10:15 p.m. with a handgun.
An off-duty officer only witnessed the argument. Castillo is accused of shooting Blanchard and Sommer several times and fleeing. Officers responded to multiple calls of shots fired in the area and found the victims on the ground. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Further details on the case will be revealed at a press conference 2 p.m. Monday, May 15 at City Hall next to the city council chambers at 2000 Main St. in Huntington Beach.
Sentence enhancements for Castillo include two counts of the use of a firearm. His arraignment is scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday, May 15, at Department CJ-1, Central Jail in Santa Ana.
The maximum sentence would be life in state prison.