Esteban Navarrete Shot at SoCal Restaurant Following Argument Over Which Mexican State is Best
Updates: 
A fight over Mexican supremacy ended up with a man shot.
Oh boy, this only gets better. Police told KNX 1070 Newsradio that the suspect was en route to (you guessed it) Mexico when he was arrested and noted that he had never been. Authorities allege his father was taking him there.
Ivan Sanchez was arrested in connection with the murder, Santa Ana police said Friday morning. He was being held on $1 million bail in Orange County Jail on suspicion of murder. Irony? Police say the 21-year-old suspect was born in the United States (though his father is from Mexico). They were tracking him with a helicopter and ground units Thursday night before moving in for the arrest. Apparently security video and a tipster led to the arrest.
The victim, Esteban Navarrete, died Wednesday after his family had doctors take him off life support. He was brain dead Tuesday.
A man was shot after fellow restaurant goers fought over -- get this -- which Mexican state is the best.
Yeah, you see the state shapes and names -- Nayarit, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Michoacan, etc. -- on the back of pickup trucks, displayed proudly. But gunfire over state pride?
The poor victim, 35-year-old Esteban Navarrete, was having a meal at an Orange County restaurant with his wife and a friend and actually decided to get the hell out when the argument erupted between patrons at nearby tables, police told us.
Outside, however, one of the parties who was in the argument opened fire and hit Navarrete, police said.
Now his family was deciding whether or not to take him off life support at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.
The shooting happened about 10 p.m. Sunday night at Mariscos La Ola at 1714 E. McFadden Ave. in Santa Ana, police said.
Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna told the Weekly "the victim was at a table in between these two groups and wasn't involved in the argument at all."
"At this point we don't know if it's mistaken identity or they were just shooting whoever was there," he said.
What states were the other parties arguing over? Detectives won't say.
First posted at 7:03 a.m. Wednesday.
-With reporting from City News Service. Got news? Email us. Follow us on Twitter, too: @dennisjromero.
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