Updated at 6:20 p.m. June 17, 2015
A homicide investigation was under way Wednesday into the death of a man initially thought to be the victim of a hit-and-run crash but now believed to have been deliberately killed.
Anaheim police received calls about the victim about 11 p.m. Tuesday. When officers arrived, they found 45-year-old Felipe Viera Lugo in the street, and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, according to Anaheim police Lt. Eric Trapp.
Initially, police thought it was a hit-and-run collision, but “investigative leads in the case suggest he was a victim of a homicide,” Trapp said.
Investigators suspect the body was dragged, and they found a white Ford F-150 pickup truck in the 200 block of south Agate Street, a short distance from the collision site, that may have been used in the killing, Trapp said.
“This is a really quiet neighborhood, so this is completely uncharacteristic for this part of town,” Trapp said.
Investigators so far do not have any witnesses, Trapp said this afternoon.
“We really need the public’s help,” he said.
Anyone with information about the case was asked to call Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS. Anonymous tips are welcome.
— City News Service