Police say they have arrested a second man in connection with a botched robbery that left a local musician dead outside his Alamitos Beach home.
Detectives serving a search warrant arrested 27-year-old Felipe Ramirez, of Long Beach, on Tuesday at a home in Huntington Beach after a two-hour SWAT standoff, according to Long Beach police.
Investigators believe Ramirez and 25-year-old Jose Garcia-Linares were involved in an attempted robbery shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Oct. 12 near Falcon Avenue and Second Street that ended with the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Thomas Mello, of Long Beach.
Mello was helping two friends pack musical instruments into their vehicle when two men approached and demanded their gear, according to an eyewitness account shared with the Long Beach Post through a second party.
Mello reportedly refused to give up the instruments and instead used Mace on one of the assailants, who responded by shooting Mello.
Mello died at a hospital from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Court records show that Ramirez was being held without bail and was set to be arraigned Friday morning. Garcia-Linares was also being held without bail and was set to be arraigned on Nov. 19.
Police arrested Garcia-Linares the night of Mello’s shooting, but did not reveal his arrest until four days later. Police did not disclose how they tracked Ramirez to the home in Huntington Beach.
Mello’s friends and coworkers said he was a fixture in the Long Beach music scene, especially on Fourth Street.
According to Jeff Givens, Mello was rarely apart from his bass guitar.
Mello and Givens had grown close over the four years they worked together between El Barrio Cantina and The Pike Bar & Restaurant.
When the two worked together at The Pike, Mello would often bring his bass to play during breaks.
“The bass was his love,” Givens said. “That was his baby.”
Mello hosted a weekly jam session at Vine on Fourth Street that was “the first regular open jam session” in the bar’s history, said Dylan Giffin, one of the head bartenders.
Mello’s band, Gain of Funktion, would play host and include anyone who brought an instrument and wanted to play, said fellow band member Myles Roach.
Roach originally met Mello in a band named Crooked Fingers that broke up shortly before Mello invited him to Gain of Funktion.
Mello was “never a flashy player,” but was “very talented and a great musician to play with,” Roach said.
Vine is putting together a tribute show for Mello in the coming months. El Barrio Cantina is also planning a benefit concert soon, with the proceeds going to Mello’s family. Details will be announced on the social media accounts for both businesses.
Vine’s owner, Dustin Lovelis, said Mello’s “pure love for music will be sorely missed.”