Pictured (L-R): Jon Flores and Joseph Arrez.ONTARIO -- The two alleged gang members charged with carjacking and murdering a man on Easter Sunday were tied to the killing through assistance from witnesses, police said.
Jon Flores, 29, and Joseph Arrez, 31, have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges filed in connection with the April 24 shooting death of Gregory Peck Johnson.
Johnson, a 59-year-old former Marine, was shot in the head at about 6:30 p.m. during an alleged carjacking outside his apartment building in the 1500 block of North Holmes Court, police said.
Police found his 2006 Ford Explorer about three hours later in an alley near the intersection of D Street and Begonia Avenue.
After holding a press conference about the case in the days following the shooting, police received anonymous phone calls from people who said Flores and Arrez were Johnson's killers, Sgt. Keith Volm said.
Witnesses later identified the men in photo lineups presented to them by investigators, Volm said.
Witnesses identified Flores and Arrez as people seen after the shooting entering an apartment building within a quarter-mile of where the vehicle was abandoned, according to a court declaration from Detective Jeff Wentz.
Two men matching the descriptions of Flores and Arrez were seen leaving Johnson's car where it was abandoned about 30 minutes after the shooting, according to Wentz's declaration, which was in the defendants' court file.
Johnson was shot with a .22-caliber round, and one or more witnesses saw Flores and Arrez with a .22-caliber handgun after the shooting, Wentz wrote.
Volm said he believed that people provided anonymous tips in part because Johnson was a random victim, not a gang member targeted by a rival.
"I think people were just upset by that fact," Volm said.
Johnson fought in the Vietnam War, and after his military service he became an officer with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Volm said. Johnson recently retired, Volm said.
"We believe he was just a random victim -- that these guys needed a ride and they just saw him," Volm said.
Flores was arrested May 18 at his home in the 500 block of West Maitland Street in Ontario.
Arrez was arrested the following day in Thousand Palms in the 31500 block of Las Flores Way.
The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office has charged both men with murder, carjacking and street terrorism.
The charges carry "special allegations" -- which if proven would lengthen the men's prison terms -- that the crimes were committed using a firearm and to benefit a street gang.
Both men have numerous gang tattoos, including "Onterio," which Arrez has tattooed on his back and Flores has tattooed on his head, according to police reports and booking photos.
"I've known these guys for many, many years," Volm said. "They're both members of the gang."
Flores and Arrez each have a prior conviction related to drug sales, and Flores was convicted in 2005 of vehicle theft, according to the felony complaint in the men's court file.
The men remain jailed in lieu of $1 million bail, and they're next due June 29 in West Valley Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga.
Flores' mother declined to comment when she was reached at her home on Maitland Street.