Thomas Mello, 36, male, Latino, was fatally shot in the early morning hours of October 12, 2025, on the 200 block of Falcon Avenue in Long Beach’s Alamitos Beach neighborhood. Officers were called just before 1:30 a.m. and found him suffering from a gunshot wound; he was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner later noted he died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
In the moments before the shooting, Mello was helping two friends pack musical instruments into a vehicle outside his home when two men approached and demanded the gear, according to an eyewitness account shared with local reporters. Mello reportedly refused, used Mace on one of the assailants, and was then shot. The sidewalk along Falcon Avenue bore the signs of the confrontation—a bullet hole in a fence on a normally quiet street—while friends and coworkers described him as a devoted bassist and a familiar face in the city’s music scene, hosting open jams and performing with local bands.
Detectives quickly pursued the case as a robbery that escalated to homicide. The same day as the shooting, police arrested 25-year-old Jose Garcia-Linares near the 700 block of Orange Avenue; he was booked on suspicion of murder and held without bail. Days later, on October 21, a SWAT team served a search warrant at a home in Huntington Beach and arrested a second suspect, 27-year-old Felipe Ramirez of Long Beach, who was also booked for murder and held without bail. Investigators believe the killing stemmed from an attempted robbery, and the case has been presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Court records cited by local reporting indicated both men were being held without bail, with forthcoming arraignments noted by the press.
Authorities officially identified Mello midweek following the attack, confirming his death date and the location of the shooting. Community tributes soon followed from the venues where he worked and played, with friends recalling his near-constant companionship with his bass and plans for benefit performances in his memory. The investigation into the attempted robbery and fatal shooting continues as detectives ask witnesses to come forward.
