ANAHEIM – Adrian Ramos garnered international awards for his skills as a magician and earned the nickname “El Magnifico.” By age 9, he’d been showcased on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and was a featured performer at the renowned Hollywood Magic Castle.

Late Wednesday night, the 19-year-old was walking home from a music class at Fullerton College when he was gunned down in a robbery attempt on a sidewalk a mile from his home, police said.

Three arrests were made in connection with his death: Aquiles Sanchez, 21, Edgar Raul Salgado, 21, and a 15-year-old juvenile were arrested Thursday night on suspicion of murder, said Anaheim police Sgt. Tim Schmidt.

“They took him for his wallet,” Schmidt said.

The arrests brought some peace to Ramos’ family members, but did little to ease their pain.

His mother, Rosa, his father, Jorge, and three siblings gathered with friends – as many as 30 at a time – on Friday at the site of the shooting on Kenwood Avenue, where a memorial of flowers and candles continued to grow.

Family members said Ramos typically drove a Ford Bronco, but after an insurance problem, he began walking the four-mile route between school and his Anaheim home.

Ramos was the youngest of six siblings. His sister called him the baby of the family and a “peacemaker.”

“He was the one person in the family who I never argued with. He was the mellow one,” said his sister, Deborah Ramos, 35. “He was the one who would always say when we (the other siblings) were fighting, ‘Come on guys, get over it. Be happy – life is too short.’”

Family members said Ramos attended St. Anthony Claret elementary school and graduated from Anaheim High last year. He had been studying at Fullerton College to become a mechanical engineer.

His father, Jorge Ramos, originally from Mexico City, said his son became a magician because Adrian went with him to workshops for magicians when he was a child.

“He was 4, and he would watch as long as he could until he would fall asleep at my feet,” Jorge Ramos remembered.

Soon he was outperforming his dad, doing card tricks, pulling coins from classmates’ ears and making doves appear out of thin air.

In elementary school, he was the one boy invited to girls’ birthday parties. He was a natural entertainer.

It was in November 1999, after a charity performance that he got a call from “The Tonight Show.” A limousine came to his school to pick him up.

“He was always surprising me with his talents. He really was magnificent, which is how he got his nickname,” Jorge Ramos said.

Adrian Ramos still practiced magic for his relatives, but he was shy about performing in front of his teenage friends. He’d moved onto other pursuits, including karate and mechanics.

The living room of his Anaheim house was filled Friday with tools he was using to build a motorized bicycle. Behind the bike were large trophies – up to 4 feet tall – and medals he’d won at international magic competitions.

Jorge Ramos showed off the mementos, referring to his son in present tense. Then he stopped to fight back tears.

“I’m so proud of him,” he said.

Asked about the arrests, Jorge Ramos said it didn’t ease his grief.

Two suspects, Sanchez and Salgado, were being held at the Anaheim Police Station; the juvenile at Orange County Juvenile Hall, police said.

“I have some peace knowing that they won’t be able to do this to anybody else,” Jorge Ramos said. “But I also feel bad for their families.

“I know what it’s like. They will probably be losing their loved ones to jail for life,” he added, his voice shaking. “My son is gone.”

Contact the writer: ecarpenter@ocregister.com or 714-704-3769