Both men who died on "Black Friday" in a shootout inside the Toys "R" Us store on Highway 111 at Fred Waring Drive had criminal records, and one of them is believed to have been a gang member, authorities said Wednesday.
Juan Meza, 28, of Cathedral City, had a tattoo that read "VMV," which indicates that he was a member an Indio-area gang called Varrio Mecca Vineyards, Riverside County District Attorney's Office spokesman Michael Jeandron said.
Alejandro Moreno, 39, of Desert Hot Springs, was also killed in the shooting.
Meza pleaded guilty in March and in November 2007 to being a felon in possession of a firearm. In September 2005, he pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, and in 2002, he pleaded guilty to possessing a controlled substance for sale while armed, according to court records.
Records show that Moreno had a criminal record spanning back to 1998, when he pleaded guilty to inflicting corporal injury on a spouse. Charges of assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and willfully harming a child were dismissed as part of a plea deal....
