DRUG SLAYING CALLED MISTAKE CRIME:

Dealers Thought Dana Point Teen-ager Was Someone Else, Police Say.

A Dana Point teen-ager who was shot to death in front of his cousin's
apartment in Redlands last month was killed by drug dealers who mistook him
for somebody who owed them money, police said Tuesday.

Giann "Carlo" Cuccia, 17, was sitting with his girlfriend outside the
apartment after 3 a.m. Nov. 20 when a stranger shot him several times with
a .22-caliber handgun, police said. His girlfriend, 16, was wounded.

Cuccia's father, George, 48, said he was sickened by the wrong-place,
wrong-time aspect of the shooting.

"It's just a ridiculous thing. They shot the wrong guy," he said Tuesday.
"The whole thing was just a mistake. It's a nightmare. There's no reason
for my son to be shot, except stupid, drugged-out people."

The family had offered a $25,000 reward for information. Police say they
didn't have any leads until Sunday, when an anonymous caller told them
about drug dealers looking for someone who owed them money.

They mistakenly thought Giann Cuccia was that person, police said.

Police spokeswoman Renee Groese said investigators later got a confession.

Arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder were Robert Baldasaro,
21, of Hesperia, the alleged gunman; Thomas Baugh, 25, of Hesperia; Caleb
East, 19, of Redlands; and Travis Burhop, 27, of Calimesa.

Cuccia had only weeks earlier decided to follow his father's footsteps and
learn the restaurant business. The Cuccia family since 1945 has operated a
chain of Vince's Spaghetti restaurants in Southern California.

"At least we got some closure in our son's death," George Cuccia said.