Santa Ana Police Detectives are conducting a homicide investigation regarding a 58-year-old man who was shot and killed.
On Monday, April 27, 2026, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Santa Ana Police officers responded to 300 N. Daisy Avenue after reports of a man who had just been shot and was down in the street.
Upon arrival, officers located the victim, later identified as John Albert Guillen (58), suffering from a single gunshot wound to his upper torso.
Despite life-saving measures, Paramedics from the Orange County Fire Authority pronounced Guillen deceased at the scene.
Based on the preliminary investigation, the victim is believed to have been entering his vehicle when he was shot. Police investigators believe the shooting was gang related.
Homicide Detectives are working to identify and locate additional witnesses who may have information related to the homicide.
The area around 300 N. Daisy Avenue in Santa Ana is represented by Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez, who serves Ward 5. Hernandez has described his father as a neighborhood gang leader. He has also noted that men in his family often got tattoos to “glorify their gang life,” a cycle he claims to have broken by becoming the first man on his father’s side to not go to jail or prison.
Anyone with information is asked to call SAPD Homicide Section Detectives at (714) 245-8390 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.
If a suspect is apprehended and convicted for the homicide of John Albert Guillen, they would likely face a base sentence for murder under California Penal Code Section 187, significantly amplified by mandatory enhancements for firearm use and gang involvement.
Based on the preliminary investigation, the following legal penalties would apply:
Primary Charge: Murder
- First-Degree Murder: If the shooting is proven to be premeditated or deliberate, the base penalty is 25 years to life in state prison.
- Second-Degree Murder: If the killing was intentional but lacked premeditation, the base penalty is typically 15 years to life.
Mandatory Sentencing Enhancements
Because the incident involved a firearm and is believed to be gang-related, California law allows for “stacking” additional sentences that must be served consecutively to the murder charge.
- Firearm Enhancement (PC 12022.53): Known as the “10-20-Life” law, personally discharging a firearm and causing death adds a mandatory 25 years to life to the original sentence.
- Gang Enhancement (PC 186.22): For violent felonies committed to benefit a criminal street gang, an additional 10-year sentence is typically added. Alternatively, if the murder is classified as gang-related, the suspect may be sentenced to 15 years to life for the enhancement alone, or it may trigger a minimum 15-year period before parole eligibility.
- Special Circumstances: If the murder was committed to further the activities of a criminal street gang (PC 190.2), it could be elevated to Capital Murder, punishable by Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP) or the death penalty.
Total Potential Exposure
A suspect convicted of first-degree murder with a firearm for the benefit of a gang could face a total sentence of 60 years to life (25 years for murder + 25 years for firearm discharge + 10 years for gang enhancement)