Nick Cubas, 19, of Downey, California, was found dead on August 4, 2016, near the 7400 block of East Willow Street in Long Beach. His body was located near the San Gabriel River; he had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Long Beach police received a call about a dead body at about 6:30 a.m. that morning and launched an immediate investigation.

On the same day Cubas’ body was found, 19-year-old Rueben Alexander Ortega was arrested on suspicion of murder. Two weeks later, 18-year-old Edgar Miguel Espinoza was also arrested. Ortega and Espinoza were charged with multiple felonies, including murder, two counts of kidnapping, carjacking, robbery, and shooting at an inhabited dwelling. Two other 19-year-olds, Adriana Rodriguez and Jeremy Rincon, were arrested and charged with being accessories after the fact.

Court proceedings moved forward in the months after the killing, with Ortega facing a preliminary hearing on October 17 and Espinoza scheduled for arraignment on September 14. Reports state Cubas was forced into a car trunk, tied up, driven to an alley, and shot multiple times at close range. Cubas was remembered as loved by friends and family. If anyone has information about what happened to Nick Cubas, please share what is known.