Suspect in Tustin MMA Gym Shooting Charged With Murder

A 53-year-old man accused of gunning down the beloved owner of a mixed-martial arts gym in Orange County was charged Monday with murder.

Kirk Vernell Price, 53, faces a sentencing enhancement for shooting a gun causing death. He was also charged with  possession of a firearm with a prior conviction.

Price has three prior strike convictions for robbery with the use of a firearm in 1983 in Orange County, according to the district attorney's office. 

Arraignment is scheduled for April 15.

The shooting occurred about 12:10 p.m. Thursday at the OC Boxing & MMA  Academy, in a strip mall at 14051 Newport Ave. Police were called to the gym in  response to a "shots fired" call, and witnesses reported the sound of several gunshots. 

Investigators were working to determine a motive for the shooting that left 44-year-old gym owner Fahness Lutalo dead.

"Jealousy, envy, whatever it may be, at the end of the day it was just hatred," said Kwesi Kordorwu, who trains at the gym.  

Gym workers told reporters at the scene that Price was a former  student of Lutalo's but the two had parted ways and Price was banned from the gym. Lutalo had more than 30 years experience in martial arts and was a former wrestling coach at Valencia High School, according to the gym's web site. 

"You want to make sense of it, but you can't," said Kevin Clinton, a Lutalo friend whose wife trains at the gym. "Just a beacon of light. He was someone you want to be around, someone who inspires you."

Lutalo's father, Jerry Wilson, reflected on his son's achievements when he and other mourners visited the gym Friday afternoon. 

"He was absolutely my hero, my man, my boy," Wilson said. "This (gym)  was his dream. This was his dream and he made it happen. And he paid the  price for it. I mean, he worked, he sacrificed, he did everything he needed to  do to get here, and he finally got here."

Price was arrested Price late Thursday near the Orange County Jail in Santa Ana. Police are still asking for the public's help tracking down the suspect's vehicle and the weapon used in the crime. 

The vehicle was described as a black 2013 Chevrolet Spark with tinted  windows, license number 7BMS565. Anyone with information on the case was urged  to call police at 714-573-3250.