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Detectives sought the public's help Friday in solving the killing of Celerino Reyes, 40, shot in a robbery attempt June 8 just north of the 10 Freeway on Mateo Street--a dingy industrial area just south of downtown Los Angeles. Reyes' assailants came up to his car window and shot him. The wound may have caused him to hit the gas; his car careened into a palm tree.
Reyes came to this country from Michoacan state in Mexico about 16 years ago with few resources. He had a small car.
He drove it around, delivering wooden pallets to businesses. He brought others with cars into the business, and it grew and grew. He helped family members here and in Mexico.
A tall, well-groomed, happy man, he was notorious for lecturing everyone in his family on the importance of hard work and responsibility. He would try to help them organize their lives and goals, constantly whipping out sheets for lists and instructions, circling this or that point for emphasis.
He was a father of five. "Muy trabajadora," one family member said, describing his lifestyle: "Hard-working." Above, his sister, a daughter, a niece and her family, and a son (in back on right) talking to LAPD Newton detectives at a news conference Friday in South-Central. There is a $50,000 reward for information in the case. Detectives have a still clip from a video of the suspects, whom they believe followed Reyes from the bank.
  They also have a picture of the suspects' car. They ask anyone with tips about the suspects to call them at (323) 846-6556.
LAPD Newton Dets. Richard Arciniega and Eric Spear have cleared the case of the murder of Karina Michel, 31, gunned down in front of her children in what may have been an attempted robbery at a taco stand in the 6200 block of Main Street, South-Central Los Angeles-Eastside, the evening of May 29.
Charged with murder in the case is Jason Martin, 18, a young black man who was already in custody on a probation violation and who hails from the neighborhood where Michel died.
Fern leaves, a stuffed giraffe, and a vial of holy water grace the shrine of Luis Nevarres, a 13-year-old boy gunned down in the unincorporated Florence area of the county on Wednesday, June 20, as he walked in the alley above in broad daylight. A week after his death, someone was making sure the candles kept burning.
The Homicide Report is seeking more information on this killing, listed below.
 The following posts comprise the coroner's list of all victims of homicide in Los Angeles County during the week June 18-24.
Homicides reported earlier in the week are updated here with information finalized by the coroner. Each week, The Homicide Report publishes a list like this. For previous lists, scroll down, or refer to the archives on the right.
(Above, flowers for victim Oscar Castillo, 24, listed below.)
Oscar Castillo, 24, a Latino man, was shot several times in the chest about 8:50 p.m. Sunday, June 24, at 4067 S. San Pedro St. in South-Central Los Angeles. He died at 10:27 p.m.
He had quarrelled with two other Latino men over an issue that may have had to do with gang concerns, police said. One of the men approached him and shot him several times. Castillo was taken to California Hospital, where he died.
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Matthew Perez, 24, a Latino man, was stabbed to death at 6631 Ferguson Drive in East Los Angeles. He died at 10:02 p.m. Sunday, June 24.
His aunt, Letty Ainsworth, said that Perez had just graduated from computer school and wanted to become a graphic artist. As a youngster he had gotten into some trouble and had been assigned community service which led to a stint with the Salvation Army. He didn't quit after his term was fulfilled. He continued working for the Salvation Army of his own volition until his death, as well as with soup kitchens affiliated with his Catholic church, she said. She said he was walking and was attacked, perhaps by a group.
Daniel Aguilar, 20, a young Latino man, was shot in the torso at 15703 Valley Blvd. in La Puente, and died at 2:42 a.m. Sunday, June 24.
Salvador Avila Jr., 19, suffered multiple gunshot wounds at 8454 Alondra Blvd. in Paramount, and died at 2 a.m. Sunday, June 24.
According to Sheriff's Det. Ray Lugo, Avila was a high school graduate from Compton who had just gone to the local Tam's that night for some food. A friend with whom he had come had gotten into a fight with other Latino men at the Tam's, and was knocked unconscious. Avila went over--not to fight--but to help his friend, Lugo said. He tried to pulled the unconscious man of the ground and get him to a car. As he was doing so, he was shot.
Update: Sheriff's homicide detectives Lugo and Sgt. Joe Ramirez have cleared this case. Arrested were Luis Rodriguez, 24, and Adrian Chavez, 27, both of whom fought with the friend. Rodriguez, who prosecutors say was the shooter, is also charged in a double murder in Paramount.
Chavez and Rodriguez were identified as suspects in the Avila case about two days before Rodriguez is suspected to have killed the additional victims of the Paramount double murder. Police had Rodriguez in their sites--internal flyers had circulated in station houses about him--but deputies were not able to find him in time. He is accused of murdering Julio Ramirez and Benjamin Velasco on July 28, a little more than a month after Avila's murder. He was caught a few days after that, now with three suspected murders in his wake.
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Nazario Carrillo Jr., 26, a Latino man, was shot in the head at 132 E. 30th St. in LAPD's Newton Division on Saturday, June 23.
He was driving a car in the 200 block of East 30th Street at 10:10 p.m. when he was shot. The car crashed. Police got a "shots fired" call and found him dead at the scene. Investigators had little more to offer than these scant facts. Their investigation continues.
* Update: This case will be classified as "cleared other" by LAPD Newton detectives. Cleared other refers to cases resolved without an arrest. In this case, Carrillo's suspected killer shot himself in the head in the course of a California Highway Patrol car chase.
Owen Gin, 26, a Latino man, was stabbed in the chest in a confrontation with his mother's 29-year-old boyfriend at 2:25 a.m. Saturday, June 23, in the 7400 block of Haskell Avenue in Van Nuys. He died at 3:42 a.m.
The mother and the boyfriend had quarrelled. The son had become involved in the dispute, and saw the boyfriend in the street. There was a confrontation, and Gin was taken to a hospital, where he died. The boyfriend is in police custody. The details of the confrontation are still being investigated.
Clyde Paschal, 35, a black man, was shotin the torso at 690 E. 50th St. in LAPD's Newton Division. He died at 2:54 a.m. Friday, June 22. A suspect is in custody. More information to come.
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Moises Lopez, 32, a Latino man, was hit by gunfire in the head, torso and left hand at the intersection of Avenue 26 and Pasadena Avenue in LAPD's Hollenbeck area and died at 4:07 p.m. Friday, June 22.
Update: LAPD Hollenbeck detectives have cleared this case. At least one Latino suspect was arrested. Narcotics were involved in the dispute.
Antwoine Young, 28, a black man, was hit multiple times by bullets at 44267 Division St. in Lancaster, and died at 3:10 a.m. Friday, June 22.
He was outside a nightclub when a fight broke out. Someone started shooting, and Young was hit. He was transported to Antelope Valley Medical Center, where he died. Anyone with information is asked to call Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500.
Ignacio Juarez, 58, died after his skull was fractured by blunt force trauma at 11:10 a.m. Thursday, June 21. His body was found near the southbound I-5 freeway ramp on Riverside Drive as it runs south from Griffith Park to the east of Silver Lake, a section of roadway where homeless people camp in cars. Juarez was a member of a homeless encampment near the overpass.
According to LAPD Northeast Division Det. Harold DiCroce, Juarez had quarrelled with 38-year-old Oswaldo Mangas, a Latino man, and other men from the encampment. Juarez was struck in the face several times with some object. There was broken glass and wood from tree branches near his body. Mangas was arrested that night. Several days later two other Latino male suspects were arrested and charged with murder. They are Rodrigo Ruiz, 42, and Fernando Tovar-Vasquez, 28. The argument took place in the context of drinking. Juarez's body was left lying near the ramp. Highway Patrol officers at first thought they had a traffic accident on their hands.
Aaron Diaz, 22, a Latino man, was hit in the left cheek by a bullet at 5601 Gotham St. in Bell Gardens on Monday, June 18 at 7 p.m. and died at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 20, at St. Francis hospital. A Latino man walked up while he was sitting in a car and shot him. He was kept alive several days after being shot so that his organs could be donated.
Richard Mitchell, 21, a black young man, was struck eight times by gunfire at 1262 E. 77th St. in Florence on Sunday, June 10, and survived until his death 10 days later, at 2:20 p.m Wednesday, June 20.
He was sitting on a front porch with another man when a Latino man or youth in a white, mid-sized car cruised by and shot both of them. The other young man, hit in the arm, survived. Mitchell was classified as stable immediately after his injuries, and was transferred to Kaiser Hospital in East Hollywood. Friends said he had a bullet in his jaw, and had undergone surgery so that it could be removed. Sometime during surgery or treatment, Mitchell had a heart attack, and could not be revived.
Above, bullet holes on the wall next to where Mitchell and his friend were struck. It is the friend's house. Mitchell was visiting. The friend's mother said Mitchell's parents took his body to their home state of Mississippi to bury him. The neighbor offered that she, too, had a son who was murdered four years ago--a 15-year-old African American youth. She said no reporter had ever asked her about her son, and that no media organization had given the death the least attention. The murder was never solved, she said bitterly. She teared up. She said she would give the message to Mitchell's parents.
Luis Nevarres, 13, a Latino boy, was struck by a bullet in the 1100 block of East 73rd Street in Florence at about 2:45 p.m., and died at 3:24 p.m. Wednesday, June 20.
 Luis was walking in an alley with a friend, another Latino male, at about 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon when a green SUV pulled up, and two Latino male suspects fired at them. Luis was hit in this possibly gang-motivated attack. He was transported to St. Francis hospital in Lynwood, where he was pronounced dead. The suspects are still outstanding.
"Rest in peace, Pelon" says the sign on the spot where he fell.
Randy Jeanlouis, 20, a black young man, suffered a single gunshot wound at 1432 W. 105th St. in the Athens area, and died at 12:35 a.m. Wednesday, June 20.
He was walking down the street with a juvenile companion when he was approached by several black men or youths on foot. They killed him. Investigators suspect gang concerns are involved in this killing, but exactly what that means is unclear. Jeanlouis may have been targeted for his gang membership. But he might also have been killed simply for being a young black man in a place where even the perception of strangeness or rivalry can get one murdered, investigators said.
Freddy Castro, 21, a Latino young man, was struck by gunfire multiple times in the 4000 block of Morgan Avenue in LAPD's Newton area. He died at 7:56 p.m. Monday, June 18.
He was shot at about 7:40 p.m. Another Latino man was wounded in the shooting but is expected to survive. Drive-by shooters surprised the pair, who were on foot. The killing was the third in LAPD's Newton Division in three days.
* Update: Newton detectives have cleared this case. Two Latino suspects have been charged.
 Ashley Lunsford, 19, a young black woman, suffered multiple gunshot wounds at the intersection of Mills and Kingsley avenues in Pomona in a shooting incident that also killed 19-year-old Shannon Fortune, below. Lunsford's time of death was listed as 11:34 p.m. Monday, June 18.
Pomona officers called to the scene of a reported fight received reports of gunshots as they sped to the scene. When they got there, they found both victims on the sidewalk, dead at the scene.
Shannon Fortune, 19, a black man was struck by gunfire multiple times in the same double homicide incident as above. His time of death was listed as 11:33 p.m. Monday, June 18.
 Anthony Jenkins, 46, a black man, was injured by a gunshot at 41st Place and Walton Avenue on Monday, June 18, and stumbled several yards before falling on the sidewalk. His time of death was listed as 5:54 p.m.
He had been walking toward a group of men or boys on the corner of 42nd Street and Walton Avenue, behind Manual Arts High School, at about 5:30 p.m. Someone shot him. He stumbled a few yards, then fell. He lay there some time in plain view before a passerby called 911. Among those who noticed him were children passing on skateboards, locals said. He was eventually taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
See Southwest Homicide and "Not just another statistic."
Continue reading "Anthony Jenkins, 46" »
Yanshi Wang, a 43-year-old woman of Asian descent, was stabbed multiple times at 8849 Glendon Way, Apt. A, in Rosemead. She died at 11:33 p.m. Sunday, June 17.
This is the end of the coroner's weekly homicide-victim list.
Left, this small boy watched the proceedings at a vigil for a homicide victim this week. The victim, a black man, was killed by gunfire.
Black men have the highest homicide victimization rates of any group in America, a fact the boy's mother grasps. Although she did not know the subject of the vigil well, she said she attended because she wanted to support anti-homicide efforts on behalf of her son. "I'm worried because I've got a young black man here," she said.
"I let all that go."
 The June killing of Venice bank employee Noelia Vasquez (right) by her boyfriend, who then killed himself, has generated many comments. Many readers addressed their remarks to the couple's 13-year-old son, who came home to find both parents dead.
Among them is a reader who describes surviving his own father's attempted murder-suicide. The reader was a child not much older than Vasquez's son when his father tried to kill his mother, leaving her comatose. The father then killed himself. "I just want you to know that it is hard," this surviving son tells the boy, "but if I would have stopped living after what my dad did...I would have never lived to become who I am." Below, an excerpt:
"i thought of killing myself after it happened. i though that since i was like my dad, i would end up just like him. it really messed me up, but i saw for myself that i had a life to live. that no matter what, i was still my fathers son and my mothers son and the best part of having them was learning how they were, good and bad. i hated walking around thinking people were saying "o his dad tried to kill his mom", but after a while i let all that go. all the negativity, all the bad thoughts, i let that go. i chose good. now you must choose good. i miss my dad, it feels bad every day, but for all the "bad" he left me with i have good. i will be good in order to show that not everything my father was, was bad. just to prove that i can get thru this. its hard, and it hurts and even know i feel like crying, im a grown man. but if i would have stopped living after my dad did what he did, i would have never lived to become who i am."
Click 'read on' below for complete comment.
Continue reading "Comment: Surviving your parents' murder-suicide" »
(Now and then, The Homicide Report highlights comments. This one was posted on the entry for victim Dion Miles, 19)
First of all, I live in Orange County and have never experienced these issues firsthand, but I still feel such sadness for these kids who's lives are being senselessly taken from them. I also feel for the young men who make such poor choices as to committ these crimes. Their lives are also being tarnished forever. I'm sick of reading the homicide report everyday. I wish there wasn't even one. I read it not to know what ares to avoid in LA or to make it a racial thing, but to think: Is there something I can do? If we all can do just a little bit, in whatever way we think his best, maybe, just maybe we can do something. LAPD and the city of LA aren't going to do anything. It has to come from the people. I know I might be naive or ignorrant because I don't live there, but I think my attitude is right. I do whatever i can. Everytime there is a public fund set up for these kids I donate. Money is not all it's going to take.
Continue reading "Comment: "I'm sick of reading The Homicide Report"" »
 A fund-raising effort is being organized to increase the reward for information on the Jan. 6, 2007 murder of college student Nicole Harvey. Concerts and other activities are planned to aid the case and to increase public awareness of the problem of unsolved homicides. For information or to make a donation, contact April Griffin, nicolefromthesoul@hotmail.com, family foundation representative.
Nicole Harvey, 21, went to wait for a bus to work at the corner of 45th Street and Western Avenue in Los Angeles early Jan. 26, and her burned body--pierced with possible gunshot wounds--was found in the 8100 block of Tuscany Avenue in Playa Del Rey that afternoon. Sometime in between, Harvey mysteriously called her bosses claiming she had a family emergency and wouldn't be coming to work. There is a $55,000 reward for information leading to a suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division at (213) 485-2129.
 Los Angeles Sheriff's Dets. Angus Ferguson and Richard Ramirez say they have solved the killing of 19-year-old Cal State Northridge student Dion Miles, left, killed for inadvertantly wearing red clothing in a neighborhood claimed by a Crip gang last week.
The suspect, Kavon Jones, 17, a black youth, was arrested this morning in connection with the homicide. See earlier post.
 A few days ago, The Homicide Report covered the killing of Anthony Jenkins, a reported drug user whose death seemed to have provoked little outrage. His body had lain in plain view for some time before anyone called 911.
Some neighbors, according to police, had shown contempt for the investigation, and there had been no shrine at the scene. All that had been left to mark the murder was a paramedic's glove on the spot where Jenkins died.
On Tuesday, a small group of people gathered to belatedly mark Jenkins' death. The group included about a half a dozen activists, none of whom knew Jenkins. They said they were upset by the apparent ignominy of his death.
 One said she had seen a report about it "in the computer," and had driven across to town to make sure the murder was given more recognition. Another said she wanted to make sure Jenkins was not "just another statistic."
 The group eventually was joined by another half a dozen neighbors, who stopped by to see what they were doing, and look at Jenkins' picture. Most then stayed for the proceedings.
 As evening closed in, several people lit candles. Then the whole group, activists and neighbors, joined hands and prayed.
Above the spot where Jenkins died, they taped a computer printout with a picture of Jenkins copied from this website, and made into a sign. The sign reads: "My name is Anthony Jenkins. I'm 46 years old. I was murdered on June 18, 2007."
The candles were still burning the next morning. A man, right, who had been pushing a shopping cart full of items scavenged from garbage cans stopped to take notice. The man had just found a fresh, whole green apple. After a moment's consideration, he left it as an offering in front of Jenkins' shrine. Jenkins was "my homeboy," the man said.
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 Newton detectives this week released a videotape still of two men wanted for the murder of Celerino Reyes, 40, a pallet salesman shot while driving his car in the 1300 block of Mateo Street on Friday, June 8.
There is a $50,000 award available for information leading to the arrest of these suspects. Reyes had been followed from the bank by these older black men--would-be robbers, investigators theorized. Shot at the wheel, Reyes lost control of the car, which crashed into a palm tree on a noisy industrial street a short distance north of the 10 Freeway.
 Left, victim Reyes.  Earlier, police released this picture of a four-door Chevrolet Cobalt, year 2005-07, silver colored, which the suspects were believed to be driving. Anyone with information is asked to call Newton homicide detectives at (323) 846-6556.
A relative of 21-year-old victim Oscar Castillo lights candles at his shrine in the 4000 block of South San Pedro Street. At least a dozen people were gathered on a nearby porch, weeping, and mostly silent.
Castillo was killed Sunday evening. See entry below.
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(The following posts are a list of victims based on reports from the Los Angeles County Coroner for the week, combined with information reported earlier from families and law enforcement. Cases that have already appeared on the Homicide Report are updated here, and listed in chronological order with other cases that we missed. To see the official homicide list going back to the first of the year, click on the archives at right, and scroll to coroner's previous weekly lists.)
 Noelia Vasquez, 30, a Latina woman, was killed by her boyfriend of 14 years, who then killed himself, police said. The incident took place at about noon in the 1000 block of Amoroso Place in Venice. The couple's 13-year-old son had left in the morning; when he returned two hours later, he found both parents dead of gunshot wounds. Noelia Vasquez had been shot twice. Her time of death was listed as 12:09 p.m. June 17.
She was an employee at the Washington Mutual branch in Culver City, and Washington Mutual has set up a memorial fund in her name, account number 492-129325-7.
Ramon Ramirez, 19, a Latino man, was found shot in the torso at 13121 Avenue Q in Lancaster. His time of death was listed as 1:31 a.m. Sunday, June 17.
 Rene Aguilar, 54, a Latino man, died after being run down by attackers near the intersection of Vernon Avenue and Wall Street--just east of the 110 Freeway and southeast of downtown Los Angeles--on Sunday, June 17, about 4:17 a.m. Officers were called to what they first thought was a car-versus-pedestrian accident. But after investigating, detectives concluded that the victim had been confronted by a suspect or suspects who then got in a car and ran him down. The victim was pronounced dead at California Hospital. Left, the scene. The sign did not scare off the assailants.
Update: Newton Dets. David Nunn and Rogelio Sandoval have cleared this case. A suspect, Enrique Reyes, 25, a Latino man, was arrested June 26 and charged with Aguilar's murder. Investigators called the killing a botched car-jacking. A second suspect is still at large.
Antonio Simental, 48, a Latino man, was stabbed in the chest and back at 5909 Main St. in South Los Angeles and died at 10:34 p.m. Saturday, June 16.
He staggered down the sidewalk and collapsed near a pay phone. Passersby flagged down officers to help him. They found him in distress, but it was not clear what was wrong with him. Only a search of his body revealed he had been stabbed. He later died.
Update: Newton detectives have cleared this case. A suspect, a Latino man, has been arrested.
Yolanda Franco, 36, a Latina woman, was stabbed more than 30 times in the neck, torso and left arm at 9726 Deeble St. in South Gate. She died at 4:54 p.m. Friday, June 15. Yaskara Comacho, 13, a Latina girl, below, died in the same incident. A third person was wounded. More to come. Police described it as a possible domestic-violence case.
Yaskara Camacho, 13, a Latina girl, suffered stab wounds and cuts to her extremities in the same attack as above. Her time of death was listed as 4:45 p.m. Saturday, June 16.
 Sherman Nevens, 49, a black man, was shot in the upper torso at an unstated address in the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide bureau. His time of death was listed at 4:26 p.m. Saturday, June 16.
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 Augusto Emiliano Zapata, 26, a Latino man, was shot in the chest at 1019 Spence St. in Boyle Heights and died at 3:05 a.m. Saturday, June 16.
More information to come.
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Alberto Molina, 20, a Latino young man, was killed on Saturday, June 16, at 12462 Osborne St. in LAPD's Foothill Division at a flyer party attended by scores of people. People paid at the door to enter the party, which featured hits of "nox" "noz"-- nitrous oxide distributed in balloons and used for quick, 20-second highs -- along with beer and a band, police said.
Molina was manning the gates and stopped a Latino party-goer to search him. As he moved to pat him down, the man protested, produced a weapon and fired several shots. One hit Molina in the chest. He was taken by friends to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Only a handful of the 100 or so party-goers, young people mostly between the ages of 15 and 20, offered information to police, detectives said. It was at least the second killing this year of someone working the door at a flyer party.
 Jaime Raul Saldana, 37, a Latino man, was killed by multiple gunshot injuries on the Long Beach Freeway north of the San Bernardino Freeway near Valley Boulevard at about 11:20 a.m. Friday, June 15. He was in a car, and shot by a suspect in a sport-utility vehicle. After he was hit, Saldana crashed into a center divider. Anyone with information is asked to call (323) 890-5500.
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 Dovon Harris, 15, a black youth, was killed by a gunshot to the head just east of Central Avenue on 114th Street in LAPD's Southeast Division, on Friday, June 15. His time of death was listed as 5 p.m. June 15, though he was kept on life support for two more days after his parents agreed to donate six of his organs. His mother said she was told that all the recipients of his organs, including lungs and liver, were in surgery by day's end, June 17.
He died on graduation day for Centennial High School seniors. Dovon was in a group marking the occasion. His group and another got into a quarrel on the street. It had started with two girls arguing. Dovon and his friends got on a bus to get out of there. Assailants followed them in cars. When his group got off the bus, drive-by shooters pulled up and fired into the crowd of boys and girls. Dovon was struck by a bullet in the head. (See post below) He was the only one hit. A 16-year-old black youth was later arrested on suspicion of murder.
"Watts United" "I've Got Expectations for You"
Franklin Hernandez, 19, a Latino young man, was struck by gunfire at the intersection of 113th Street and Yukon Avenue in Inglewood and died at 10:34 p.m. Friday, June 15.
A lone man in white van pulled up to group in a driveway at 3703 113th St. and fired out the window. Hernandez was hit. Anyone with information is asked to call Inglewood police at (310) 412-5246.
Carlos Lopez, 21, was struck in the head by gunfire at 2439 E. Cesar Chavez Ave. in Boyle Heights and died at 6:49 p.m. Thursday, June 14.
Jose Luis Hernandes, 53, was struck by gunfire multiple times at 2476 Santa Fe Ave. in Long Beach and died at 1:53 a.m. Thursday, June 14. He was a one-armed man who lived in a van in a 99-cent store parking lot. He did odd jobs for the store, and had at least 13 aliases. Long Beach detectives seek clues. (562) 570-7244.
Dion Miles Jr., 19, a young black man, was shot and killed at 12303 Wilmington in Willowbrook about noon on Wednesday, June 13. He was from another part of Los Angeles and is not believed to have known much about the neighborhood where he found himself that afternoon. Detectives think he may have gotten off a bus at a nearby bus stop there.
He was wearing a red hat, shoes, and red striped shirt. The neighborhood is claimed by Crip gangs who are associated with the color blue and who are traditional enemies of red-clad Blood gangs. Miles was not a documented gang member and had no criminal record of serious or violent crime. He probably had no idea that the colors he was wearing might be considered a provocation on that stretch of Wilmington, detectives said. Almost immediately, he was confronted by two black men or youths on foot. One shot him, and he was dead before he hit the ground.
Miles was an art student at Cal State Northridge, and a member of a large and accomplished Baldwin Hills family. His stepmother Robin Miles, who works at a Century City law firm, described him as a happy-go-lucky young man who had drawn and doodled all his life, and who was studying graphic design for video games. He was tall, light-skinned, curly-haired, and had been a basketball player. He was the eldest of 10 children of his father, Dion L. Miles Sr. His parents had plans to transfer him from Northridge to Columbia University. He got off the bus, said his stepmother, on his way to visit his sister. She, too, said he was not sure where he was.
Luis Sandoval, 70, identified by the coroner as white and by the police as Latino, died of shooting injuries at a hospital at 2:22 a.m. Wednesday, June 13 after surviving in a coma for more than three months.
Sandoval was shot near the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Hicks just before 5 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 25. Some taggers had been doing graffiti nearby. There was a shooting, and he was struck, investigators said. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call sheriff's homicide at (323) 890-5500.
Julio Cesar Montano, a 25-year-old Latino man, was shot at 1113 N. Oleander Ave., near the intersection of Oleander and Cherry streets in Compton, on Tuesday, June 12 at about 8:09 p.m. He died at 8:34 p.m.
This shooting took place in front of patrolling deputies' eyes. The deputies were in a car about 100 yards away, watching, when a 16-year-old black youth fired into Montano's silver Ford Expedition, striking him. Montano was transported to Martin Luther King-Harbor Hospital, where he died.
The teen suspect ran. Deputies gave chase in their patrol car; they drew up to him, and the youth pointed a gun at them. One deputy fired and missed. The youth then tossed his gun and ran. They caught up with him, and he surrendered. He was charged with homicide and a handgun was recovered. Montano worked for a catering company and lived in the area, investigators said.
(This is the end of the coroner's official weekly list of homicide victims, June 12-17.)
 A crowd of at least 100 gathered Thursday for a candlelight vigil to mark the driveby-shooting death of 15-year-old Dovon Harris in the Nickerson Gardens housing project. LAPD Southeast Capt. Rick Jacobs announced a suspect was in custody. The crowd cheered and clapped.
Unlike many homicides cases reported on The Homicide Report, this one benefited from numerous witnesses cooperating.
As covered previously here, the reluctance of witnesses to cooperate with police, especially in the context of black and Latino urban poverty, is central to high-homicide dynamics.
It works like this: Witness reluctance affords killers impunity, and gives them power to essentially become underworld lords, ruling lawless ethnic enclaves created by the inexorable calculus of housing segregation and poverty. Within such enclaves, violence becomes a kind of currency that people ignore at their peril, and formal legal protection does not exist. Men and boys, in particular, experience extreme pressure to demonstrate they too are capable of violence. If they appear weak, they risk falling on the wrong side of the violent transactions that organize this underworld. They must walk tough, talk tough, and cultivate a reputation for being dangerous if provoked.
Continue reading ""Watts United" " »
LAPD Southeast detectives have made an arrest in the shooting-death case of Dovon Harris, 15. A black male juvenile suspect, 16 years old, is in custody. More to come. See post below.
South-Central Los Angeles: Freddie Castro, 21, a Latino man, was shot at about 7:40 p.m. on Monday, June 18, at 4041 Morgan Ave. in LAPD's Newton Division. Another Latino man was wounded in the shooting but is expected to survive. Drive-by shooters surprised the pair, who were on foot. The killing was the third in LAPD's Newton Division in three days.
Centennial High guidance counselor Juan Ball, above, learned of the June 14 shooting of 15-year-old Dovon Harris by phone (see entry). She rushed to UCLA-Harbor Medical Center, where the tall teenager was on life support after being injured in a Watts drive-by.
Ball had taken a particular interest in Dovon, a 10th-grader at the Compton school. "I've got my eye on you!" she would tell him, pointing a stern index finger his way. "I've got expectations for you!" Dovon, usually a blur of affectionate energy, would be stopped short--reduced, for once, to blushing speechlessness.
 He loved to hang around her office, cracking jokes, talking incessantly, being silly--dawdling when he was supposed to be headed to class. "Dovon, get out of here! Go to class!" Ball would tell him, exasperated. "He would make you laugh, and you just couldn't stay mad," she said.
Teachers came to Ball declaring that Dovon drove them crazy, then say they wanted to work with him anyway. More recently, Ball sensed progress. Dovon seemed to be maturing. "Dovon, what are your plans?" she demanded one day. "To go to college," he answered. Ball pointed her stern index finger at him. "Now remember: that came out of your mouth not mine, and I'm going to hold you to it," she said.
At the hospital last weekend, she saw him on the ventilator, swollen, his face burned. She learned he was brain-dead, but still could not believe he was dying. She felt sick, near collapse.
At home later, she lay awake. She kept seeing Dovon's face in the dark. She considers herself a "realist counselor," she said, urging students to prepare relentlessly for a world that won't do them favors. But "I did not prepare for this," she said.
(Above, guidance counselor Ball at her office at Centennial High, three days after student Dovon Harris' death. She reads aloud from her students' college admission essays to show how homicide pervades their worldview. "Living to age 18 is an accomplishment in itself," she reads from one essay, then flips to the next: "I've seen my peers lost to dope and death." And from the next: "They say I'm only going to make it to 18." After more examples, she let the pages fall. "I'm tired," she said.)
(Left, Dovon's father, four days after the youngster was shot in the head, and two days after his organs were harvested and he was taken off life support. Dewayne Harris spoke only a few sentences about his son. He teared up and cut short the interview to go outside and smoke a cigarette. He hadn't slept, he said. "It's a real rough situation," he said, between long pauses, and deep breaths. "I'm trying to keep it together.")
Continue reading "Dovon Harris, 15, continued." »
LAPD Southwest: Anthony Jenkins, 46, a black man, was shot as he approached four men standing on the corner of 42nd Street and Walton Avenue, behind Manual Arts High School, at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 18. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
As of Tuesday, no next of kin had been located for Jenkins, a denizen of a neighborhood with a background entwined with narcotics. Det. Jim Yoshida said that when he arrived at the scene, there was a crowd of people. "They were laughing at us," the frustrated detective said. "Laughing at us for going to the effort. Nobody cares. Nobody cares. Nobody gives a sh--. Nobody saw. They don't want to hear about it. They don't want to see it."
 Left, there was nothing at the homicide scene the next day. Not even a candle. Just a glove and some torn packages left by the paramedics who treated Jenkins. Anyone with information is asked to call LAPD Southwest investigators at (213) 485-2417.
Update: As a comment below indicates, Jenkins family was later located, according to Det. Dave Garrido of LAPD Southwest Division. No arrest had been made as of Monday, June 25. Detectives continue to seek information. .
 The Los Angeles Times today runs a package based on entries from The Homicide Report's coverage of shooting victims who survive with injuries. Assault victimization statistics follow the same pattern as homicide in America. As with homicide, black men are the most vulnerable. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, more black men were hospitalized for assault injuries between 2001 and 2004 than women of any race. It is a massive problem. And the statistics on physical injuries don't even touch the post-traumatic stress issue.
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They also have a picture of the suspects' car. They ask anyone with tips about the suspects to call them at (323) 846-6556. 
