Residents in a tight-knit Vallejo subdivision knew Martin Hohenegger, 65, as the former Marine, a neighborhood fixture who spent every day hanging out in the garage across the street with his best friend, Mike Scally, 58.

On Wednesday evening, the daily routine turned tragic.

Shortly after the televised presidential debate began at 6 p.m, police said, Hohenegger got into an argument with Scally and another man, Doug Kahley - neighbors said it was possibly over politics - stormed home and returned with a gun, shooting his two friends dead in front of Scally's house.

The front-lawn killings on the 300 block of Foulkstone Way left neighbors in shock Thursday.

"It's insane to think about," said Jamie Dowd, who lives two doors from Scally's garage. "They were so similar."

"I just can't see Martin shooting anyone," she added.

Apparently Scally couldn't either.

Just before the shots rang out, Dowd said, neighbors heard Scally tell Hohenegger: "You're not going to shoot me, Martin. You'd go to jail."

One area where Hohenegger and Scally differed and sometimes argued, Dowd and other residents said, was over politics.

Dowd said Hohenegger identified himself as a proud Republican while Scally leaned Democrat. But it was impossible to tell what their final argument was over, she said, because the two men "bickered about everything. That's just what they did."

Neighbors described Hohenegger as an affable character who waved to every passing car, offered to pick up newspapers and mail for those who went out of town, and took out trash cans on Sunday nights for those who'd forgotten. He mowed lawns for elderly neighbors and pitched in on home-improvement projects.

The retiree and his wife, Linda, moved into the Glen Cove neighborhood about 10 years ago, residents said, and Hohenegger made his presence and personality known immediately by staking a red U.S. Marine Corps flag in his front yard.

He also drove a white Chevy Blazer festooned with five Marine stickers and introduced his neighbors to his dog, a pit bull mix named BAM - short for Bad Ass Marine. One sticker on the front door to his home reads, "I am a Vietnam vet and proud of it."

Dowd said Hohenegger never talked about his military service, nor did he say much about his career afterward. Once he moved in, he made quick friends with his neighbors across the street, the Scallys, who outfitted their garage with three television sets and a refrigerator stocked with beer.

The Scallys hosted an annual Halloween pumpkin-carving contest, and Mike was the kind of neighbor who offered a cold one to anyone who walked by the garage when the Giants game was on.

Hohenegger was a welcome presence who was always around and often had a glass of gin in his hand.

"He was a happy drunk," Dowd recalled, noting that Hohenegger said he took painkillers for old injuries.

Five years ago to the day Wednesday, neighbors said, Hohenegger's wife died, and the retiree was seen drinking a bit more frequently.

One young man who declined to give his name said he all but grew up in the Scallys' garage. He said he felt like he lost two fathers Wednesday.

"Mike was the only person who looked after Martin after his wife died," he said. "He was old and alone, a bit kooky, but Mike cared about him."

Neighbors said Kahley, 50, was a contractor who lived a few blocks away but was around so often, he was an honorary resident of Foulkstone Way.

Several neighbors reported they heard three to five gunshots shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Louie Hilario, 51, who lives about six houses down, said he thought it was firecrackers and ignored it. Just a few days ago, he said, the men in the garage were goofing around with fireworks.

After he fired the fatal bullets, police said, Hohenegger retreated to his home and surrendered after a 45-minute standoff. He was arrested on suspicion of two counts of murder and is being held in Solano County Jail in Fairfield.

"They were the three nicest guys in the neighborhood," Dowd said. "I could even see Mike standing there, not believing Martin, thinking he was messing around. He wouldn't believe Martin would do it. None of us can."