As the last nine months passed, Rialto resident Ailene Kuhner became more and more certain that the gunman who shot and killed her husband in a supermarket parking lot never would be found.

"I've just been waiting and hoping and praying and not believing that it would ever be solved," Kuhner said Friday.

The July 19 shooting of Arthur Kuhner outside Stater Bros. market at 168 W. Base Line shocked the Rialto community and initially stumped police who had few leads to follow.

"This was a tough investigation, a tough case to handle," said police Lt. Joe Cirilo. "But our investigators worked very hard on this case. It's always been a priority for us."

Last Sunday would have been Arthur Kuhner's 81st birthday, his wife said. On Friday, Rialto police delivered what Ailene Kuhner called "the best gift God could give under the circumstances" by announcing they had arrested two Rialto residents on suspicion of murder in the slaying of her husband.

Ray Lewis Williams, 18, and a 16-year-old youth whose name was not released because of his age were arrested Wednesday, ending the investigation into a crime Cirilo said Rialto police were determined to solve.

Williams, a recent Rialto High School graduate, is being held at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. The 16-year-old, a Rialto High student, is in custody at San Bernardino County Juvenile Hall, Cirilo said.

Police suspect Williams of being the trigger man. The weapon has not been found but the investigation is continuing, Cirilo said.

The suspects will be arraigned early next week, Cirilo said. Prosecutors are expected to try the juvenile as an adult, he said.

The search for the people who killed Kuhner frustrated police and, in the end, hinged on one item: a newspaper found at the scene, Cirilo said.

Witnesses said Williams and the youth were seen reading a newspaper in the area as Kuhner, a U.S. Navy veteran who fought in World War II and the Korean War, stepped out of his car, officials said.

The pair approached Kuhner, apparently with the intent to rob him, and shot him once in the head when he resisted, Cirilo said. No property was taken from Kuhner, police said.

The newspaper that the pair left behind was sent to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department crime lab for testing. Fingerprints found on it matched both suspects, Cirilo said.

Rialto authorities closed in on Williams and the juvenile suspect earlier this week, then arrested them at their homes on Wednesday, Cirilo said.

Since their arrests, both have confessed to killing Kuhner and cooperated with police, Cirilo said.

Tim Grenda can be reached by e-mail at tgrenda@pe.com or by phone at (909) 890-4460.

Published 4/8/2000