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Man arrested in fatal stabbing in Costa Mesa neighborhood

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A known gang member with a lengthy criminal history was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of stabbing a man to death in a Costa Mesa neighborhood, police said.

John Raymond Breceda, 37, of Santa Ana already was in Orange County Jail on an unrelated charge when Costa Mesa detectives arrested him on suspicion of murder. He is being held with bail set at $1 million.

Breceda is the second person arrested in the May 30 slaying of Floriberto Villasenor Cortes, 44, of Santa Ana, who was found bleeding on the front yard of a house in the 2900 block of Peppertree Lane. Villasenor Cortes later died at a hospital.

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Investigators arrested Maricela Raye Gomez-Lee, 50, of Santa Ana at a Lake Elsinore home last week. She is being held on suspicion of being an accessory to murder, with bail set at $1 million, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police have released few details about the case but said Tuesday that Breceda and Villasenor Cortes were in a vehicle parked on Peppertree Lane before the attack. Breceda is suspected of stabbing Villasenor Cortes in the neck. Villasenor Cortes ran but collapsed on a lawn, authorities said.

The vehicle, which investigators believe Breceda used to flee, was found the next day burning in a field near the 5 Freeway and Junipero Serra Road in south Orange County.

At the time, Breceda was free from prison on what is known as Post-Release Community Supervision, according to court records. The program puts certain parole-eligible offenders under supervision of local authorities instead of the state as part of California’s prison realignment.

Court documents indicate that Breceda has a long rap sheet dating to 1991 that includes arrests or convictions in drug-related crimes, burglary, theft, robbery, carjacking, assault on a police officer and possession of an assault weapon.

His most recent stint behind bars started in July 2013 after he was convicted of receiving stolen property, unlawful taking of a vehicle and recklessly evading police, according to court records. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but under realignment he was released in September 2014 and placed under supervision of local probation officials.

Breceda did not fare well on probation, according to reports filed by officers supervising him. The reports allege that he skipped mandatory meetings and tested positive for methamphetamine use.

“The offender continues to make the decision to involve himself in illegal activities, posing a threat not only to himself but also the community,” one officer wrote in a summary in November that recommended Breceda spend an additional 120 days behind bars.

A second probation report filed in June put it more bluntly: “He is a danger to the community.”

By that time, Costa Mesa police were investigating Breceda in connection with the stabbing, and authorities issued an arrest warrant June 4 on allegations that he failed to check in with his probation officer.

Police took Breceda into custody the next day, according to jail records.

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