4 men arrested in gang shooting outside Winton liquor store

Four suspected gang members have been arrested in connection with a shooting last month outside a Winton liquor store.

The violence sparked around 9 p.m. Sept. 7 at Turf Liquor on North Winton Way when the group confronted a 31-year-old man, who was buying Gatorade for a young child and a woman he was with, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office reported.

The confrontation spilled into the parking lot outside as the victim tried to avoid the group, Detective Sgt. Chuck Hale said.

At least two people were armed when the shooting started and the victim was struck in the leg and foot. His injuries were not life-threatening.

The victim has tattoos commonly associated with white supremacist prison gangs and investigators believe the violence was motivated by suspected gang involvement and was not about race, as initially reported.

Sheriff’s detectives arrested Oscar Arellano, 21, of Atwater, and Miguel Angel Tristan, 19, Jose Serna-Sanchez, 28, and Alberto Vega-Vavala, 26, all from Winton. Arellano was arrested Tuesday and the others were picked up Wednesday.

All four were booked into the Merced County jail with bond set at $550,000 each on suspicion of attempted murder and criminal street gang participation.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 12:08 PM with the headline "4 men arrested in gang shooting outside Winton liquor store."