One arrested in drug-related San Bruno killing

Police were uncertain whether the murders were gang related, though Nicolopulos said they weren't ruling out the possibility.

Along with 12 kilograms of uncut cocaine, police found four Latino men, three of whom were bound, dead with gunshot wounds to the head at 7:17 p.m. Friday at the Evergreen Ridge Apartments.

A loud noise, possibly a gunshot, was allegedly heard by witnesses in the afternoon. However, it wasn't until a neighbor walked by the open door of unit N8 and saw bodies on the ground that the police were called. Nicolopulos would not disclose the caliber of the guns involved, but he did say investigators believed there was more than one suspect.

Police suspect the murders took place between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. The bodies were found in two areas in the one-bedroom apartment. None of the victims was on the lease, but police suspect that some of them may have been living or staying at the apartment. The county coroner had identified two of the victims, but San Bruno police requested that their identities not be revealed because of the ongoing investigation.

After discovering evidence of narcotics Friday night, San Bruno police requested the assistance of the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force for investigation of the cocaine. As a result of this second search, 27-year-old Jaime DeAlba was arrested at a San Francisco residence and charged for possession of cocaine for sale. Although police did not disclose his whereabouts at the time of the murders, he was also being considered as a material witness in the case.

One of the two leasees of the apartment where the murders occurred, DeAlba was arraigned in San Mateo County Court on Monday, with bail set at $20 million. He is to enter a plea Friday. The other leasee, a female, had been interviewed by the police. Her relationship to DeAlba or any of the victims was not disclosed.

The street value of the 12 kilograms was estimated at $180,000 to $240,000, Nicolopulos said. With the pending investigation Monday night, police said there was money in the apartment but would not release the amount or information about any other evidence in the apartment.

In the quiet, middle-class Evergreen Ridge Apartment complex, where a one-bedroom apartment with ocean views rents for $1,500, such a gory murder scene was a surprise for residents and police.

"I've been here 27 years, and I haven't seen anything like this in that time period," said Nicolopulos.

"This is a new one on me," said Dan Oates, who has been with the San Mateo Sheriff's Department for more than 20 years. "I wouldn't compare it with anything."

Oates, a special agents supervisor for the narcotics task force, said he hoped the homicides were not characteristic of any larger ring of drug trafficking.

"We're only investigating this as a single event," he said.

One resident, whose apartment overlooks the unit where the homicides occurred, did not hear any commotion around the time of the murders.

Mike McFerren, 46, was in his apartment Friday between 4:15 and 7:45 p.m. with the television on and the windows closed. As of Monday, he still wasn't certain what had happened and was surprised to hear of the murders. One of the reasons McFerren, a service and support manager for a Bay Area tech firm, lives in the complex is because it is quiet. The typical police call is for loud music or disturbing the peace.

"It's kind of out of the way. You have to want to get here to find it," McFerren said. "But I'm concerned to see what management does for security."