Two teens arrested in fatal shootings of two young men in San Marcos

Two teens, ages 15 and 17, were arrested this week on suspicion of fatally shooting two young men in San Marcos during the sale of vaping products, a sheriff’s official said Wednesday.

The boys were booked into Juvenile Hall on suspicion of murder, Lt. Chris Steffen said. Their names were not released because they are minors.

The shooting occurred about 1:30 p.m. Jan. 4 on West Borden Road near Las Posas Road. Friends Nicholas Tiefer, 20, of Vista and Jesus Garcia, 19, of San Marcos were killed.

Deputies found Garcia lying on the ground near the entrance to a nearby park. He was suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest, Steffen said. Tiefer was found in the passenger seat of a nearby vehicle and had been shot in the neck.

They were flown to hospitals. Garcia died several hours later. Tiefer died three days later.

Steffen on Wednesday did not say what led investigators to the two teens.

The older boy was arrested Monday on Van Buren Boulevard in Riverside. The other teen was arrested about 7 a.m. Wednesday at his home in Oceanside.

Investigators believe the boys did not know the victims, and that they all met up for the purposes of an “illegal sale of vape products,” Steffen said in a statement.

The lieutenant said the motive and other circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation.