Orlando Merced (b. 1974; d. 2014) was a resident of Los Angeles, California, and a musician with the mariachi group Los Reyes Jalisco, in which he played the vihuela. He was the son of Irma and Hector Merced, the brother of Adelita Merced, and the husband of Candelaria Merced.
Merced was struck by a bullet at Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights on 10 April 2004. The bullet lodged in his spine and could not be removed, leaving him paralyzed. His shooting was initially investigated by Hollenbeck detectives Oscar Rodriguez and Benito Rojas. They had assumed that it was a random shooting by neighborhood gang members. Without the bullet their investigation went nowhere.
He suffered serious complications over the next ten years which necessitated several amputations. He succumbed to sepsis as a result of the shooting in 2014. Teresa Corazon performed the autopsy and recovered the bullet. The case was assigned to Harry Bosch and Lucia Soto. They determined that the bullet was intended for fellow band member Angel Ojeda.