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The following posts represent the weekly catalogue of Los Angeles County homicide victims confirmed for the period. The entries are lacking in detail this week because the Homicide Report is on a partial break until Sept. 1. More information will be added later.
Shawn Sowell, 33, a black man, was recorded as a homicide victim in South Los Angeles in LAPD jurisdiction; time of death, 1 a.m. Aug. 21. He had recently gotten out of prison and was shot by someone after a brief dispute. More information to come.
 Riko Robinson, 22, a black man, was shot multiple times at the intersection of 59th Street and Atlantic in Long Beach, and died at 10:01 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19.
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 Sarai Abigail Lopez, 17, a Latina teenage girl, was shot at about 6:21 p.m. Aug. 17 near the intersection of Romaine Street and Normandie Avenue in the East Hollywood area, and lingered two days at County-USC Medical Center before dying at 9:33 p.m. Aug. 19.
Sarai, who friends called Abigail, was walking with five other teenage girls when a silver Nissan Ultima came cruising down the street, double-parked, and a Latino man or youth got out and started shooting. Sarai dove for the cover of a parked car, but was hit as she attempted to hide there, said Rampart Homicide supervising Det. Fred Faustino. None of the other young women were struck. Faustino said the shooting may have been gang related; police had documented one of Sarai's all-female group as a gang member. Anyone with information is asked to call (213) 207-2060.
Tramaine Thomas, 20, a young black man, was shot at 123 N. Spring St. in Compton, and died at 5:21 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19.
 Beatriz Santiago, a 21-year-old Latina woman, was shot in a backyard in a burst of gunfire from an alley at 1401 W. 38th Street in LAPD's Southwest Division, and died just after midnight Sunday, Aug. 19. She was a student at UC Riverside, and was attending a birthday party with her brother, Roberto, 22, also killed in this double homicide (see post below).
Los Angeles Times story
 Roberto Santiago Jr., 22, a Latino man, was killed in the double homicide described above, and died at the same time as Beatrice Santiago, his sister.
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Darnell Davis, a 2-year-old black toddler, was listed as a homicide victim in Long Beach at an undisclosed location, from undisclosed causes. His time of death was just before 8 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19.
Eulogio Ruiz-de la Cruz, 63, a Latino man, may have been strangled to death in Los Angeles County. He was found choked with ties, with his ankles bound, at an undisclosed location. His time of death was listed as 7:22 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19. Los Angeles sheriff's detectives are investigating.
Donta Bolden, 15, a black youth, was shot at the intersection of 115th Street and Success Avenue in Watts and died at 11:14 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18. This was a drive-by shooting in the Nickerson Gardens housing project. Donta was in a group. Another victim, a black man, 36, was wounded by gunfire, and remains in extremely critical condition.
Jesus Guevara, 24, a Latino man, was shot in LAPD's Hollenbeck Division while walking out of a liquor store. He had just cashed a check, but the suspects didn't rob him. They just drove up in a black vehicle, yelled something, and shot him. He had no documented gang membership, police said. Time of death: 6:04 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18. HR is seeking more information.
 Ellis Lewis, 24, a black man, was shot multiple times at 21436 S. Main St. in Carson and died at 9:04 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 18.
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 Connie Williams, 15, a black teenage girl, was shot in the head at the intersection of 45th Street and San Pedro Street in LAPD's Newton Division, east of the 110 Freeway and south of downtown Los Angeles, early in the morning, Aug. 17.
The young runaway was standing with some young men--the possible targets of the drive-by shooters--and was the only one of the group to be hit, said Det. Dennis Fanning of LAPD Newton station. Her companions sought help, and with friends, they drove her to Kaiser hospital in West Los Angeles, where she died. Her family, who are of Belizean extraction, agreed to donate her organs, Fanning said. She was pronounced dead at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18.
The case is partially cleared: One suspect, 18-year-old Charles Nicholson, a black young man, is in custody.
 Carlos Villavicencio, 25, a Latino man, was shot in the torso sometime before Aug. 18. His body was found that day wrapped in plastic garbage bags in a carport at 25917 Narbonne Ave. in Lomita. His time of death was listed as 6 p.m. Aug. 18.
See Dispatch: "No Angel, but No Less a Victim"
Ebony Huel, a 16-year-old black teenage girl, was shot in the head at the intersection of North Lincoln Avenue and Montana Street in Pasadena at about 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17, and died at 5:55 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18.
Police officers responding to a "shots fired" call found her lying wounded on the sidewalk. She was transported to a hospital, where she died. Later that afternoon, Pasadena police arrested a suspect: John Reynolds, 19, of Los Angeles. He had been released from prison three weeks before after serving an armed-robbery sentence, and was on parole. More to come. Detectives seek additional clues. (626) 744-4522.
 Monson Afualo, an 18-year-old young man of Samoan descent, was stabbed in the abdomen at 1312 Hellman St. in Long Beach, and died at 1:55 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18.
He was in the back of their house. An acquaintance with whom he had quarreled previously was hiding in the bushes. He jumped out and attacked Afualo with a knife, said his older sister, Cheryl Ulugia. "I got there and he wasn't moving," she said. "I was calling the police, and at the same time, I was using the light from my phone to see him and where he was hurt, and he wasn't moving." Police arrived and found the suspect nearby, and arrested him, she said.
Afualo had come from American Samoa with his siblings in the early 1990s, attended high school in Orange County, then quit to work in construction to help support the siblings' late grandmother, their one-time caretaker, the sister said. As a youngster he loved skateboards, she said. As he grew older, his family was his chief concern, she said.
Michael Pena, 17, a Latino youth, was shot multiple times at 1533 6th Ave. between downtown Los Angeles and the Wilshire area and died at 12:37 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16.
Bobby Goodwin, 69, a black man, was struck in the head with a trophy, decapitated, and stabbed in a residence at about 7:20 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16. in the 24200 block of Senator Avenue in the Harbor area, Los Angeles police said. His time of death was listed as 7:51 p.m. Aug. 16. His grandson, 23, was arrested in connection with the crime. They had quarreled prior to the stabbing, said Los Angeles Police Det. Louis Paglialonga. Goodwin died at the scene.
Dominicque Davis, 18, a black young man, was shot in the back at 100 E. La Verne Ave. near La Luna Way in Pomona at about 9:37 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 16. Police responding to several calls of gunfire found him wounded. He was airlifted to a trauma center in Los Angeles, where he died about an hour later.
Thomas Ruelas, 48, a Latino man, was stabbed twice in the abdomen at 923 East Hollyvale St. in Azusa and died at 5:05 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15.
Bronwyn Sullivan, 28, a white woman, was strangled in a home at 2010 Garth Avenue in West Los Angeles. Police said the woman's husband, Virgil Leo Wagaman, 34, walked into the West L.A. station at about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, and told police she was dead. They found her body and arrested him. There was a history of domestic violence in the marriage, police said. More to come.
Calvin Davis, 16, a black youth, was shot twice in the back and killed near the intersection of Andale Avenue and Ovington Street in Lancaster at about 7:43 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15. His time of death was listed as 10:32 p.m.
Gregory Eversole, 29, a white man, was shot in the head at 21784 Laurel Rim Drive in Diamond Bar. Sheriff's investigators were called at about 4 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15. His time of death was listed as 6:15 a.m.
Peter Rodriguez, 23, a Latino man, died just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, after being shot by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies during a shootout near the intersection of North Herbert Avenue and Whiteside Street in the vicinity of the 10 Freeway just after midnight.
Sheriff's deputies gave this account: Rodriguez was writing graffiti when two deputies surprised him. They ordered him to stop. He turned, dropped his spraypaint can and pulled out a gun in one motion, they said. He fired, blasting a hole in the back window of the patrol car, and the deputies shot back. Rodriguez was struck once; he was taken to a hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. He later died.
Brent McKinney, a 45-year-old black man, was shot and killed by California Highway Patrol officers at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, on the connector ramp between the eastbound Interstate 10 and the northbound Interstate 5 at South Boyle Avenue in Boyle Heights. The officers had faced off with the man at a homeless encampment under the freeway, where he had threatened them with a machete, CHP officials said. The man and the officers moved to the ramp, where both officers shot him.
 Maria Hicks, 58, a Latina woman, was shot near the intersection of Woodford Street and San Gabriel River Parkway about 9:55 p.m. Friday, Aug. 10, and died of her injuries at a hospital three days later, Monday, Aug. 13.
Hicks was driving home and saw a Latino man or youth spray-painting graffiti, said Lt. Larry Lincoln of the Sheriff's Department homicide bureau. She honked her horn and flashed her lights and began to follow the fleeing tagger. Two Latino men or youths in a silver compact car pulled up and shot at her. She was struck in the upper torso. Three people were later arrested.
Los Angeles Times story
This post is the last in the weekly list of Los Angeles County victims based on coroner's records and police reports.
The Homicide Report is on vacation, and will resume Sept. 1. There will be only minimal posts during this period.
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(Marcia Holmes, left, Earl Ofari Hutchinson and Lita Herron at last Saturday's news conference calling for improved strategies to safeguard witnesses).
Sometimes big things start small.
Last weekend, Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, and Marcia Holmes, whose daughter Ashley Cheval was murdered in LAPD's 77th Street Division last year, held a news conference in a room filled mostly with empty chairs.
The crowd was limited to three: HR, one television reporter and one camerawoman.
The KCAL-9 reporter had come to the Leimert Park gathering on Saturday mainly to get Ofari Hutchinson's response to a high-profile story that day: The pending closing of King Drew hospital. Ofari Hutchinson broached the second topic on the agenda almost apologetically, seemingly unsure whether the reporters would stay to hear it.
The topic was witnesses.
The activists were there to announce call for more resources and attention to the issue of witness protection.
As has been reported on this site in the past, the problem of
witness cooperation is at the core of the national homicide problem.
There is perhaps no more important single impediment to the
successful investigation and prosecution of the masses of murder cases
than frightened or uncooperative witnesses. The scope and complexity of
this problem cannot be overstated. "Colossal" is how Deputy Dist. Atty.
Halim Dhanidina classified it in a Times story last year. "I don't
think we have ever had a gang case where the specter of fear didn't
raise its head for at least one witness."
Witnesses don't testify for many reasons. But fear is a central one.
Their reluctance assures impunity for killers. And when killers get
away with it, killing becomes that much easier the next time. The more
murders, the more fear. The more fear, the less witness cooperation.
The less cooperation, the more impunity. And so on. The result is a
sclerotic criminal justice system in the very communities where crime
hits hardest.
Police and prosecutors have fretted for decades over this problem.
To hear it taken up by Ofari Hutchinson, one of L.A.'s most prominent
black leaders, is a noteworthy moment in this city's racial history,
even if only three journalists were there to see it:
Twenty years ago, such a news conference would have been unthinkable, Ofari Hutchinson acknowledged later.
"Twenty years ago, I would have said I don't want to talk about
black-on-black violence. I want to talk about police-on-black violence.
But this is 2007," he said. "Things have changed."
The activists called for more money, more publicity, and
witness-security measures as effective as the federal witness
protection program made famous by organized crime cases.
When it came to Holmes, who has been caring for her young
granddaughter since her daughter was murdered, she looked steadily into
the lone camera: "Where there are no consequences for crimes, what you
get is absolute lawlessness," she said.
 
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The suspect in the July robbery murder of Pulod Davlatnazarov, 39, at the Limelight Liquor Store at 1649 La Brea Ave. is still at large. These video images capture his face.
Detectives released the video again Thursday in a renewed plea for tips on the suspect's identity and whereabouts. They said he walked into the Hollywood liquor store about 6:30 p.m. and went to the back, where Davlatnazarov, an immigrant from Tajikistan, was working in the stock room. In the course of the subsequent robbery, he shot Davlatnazarov in the head and killed him, and also severely wounded store clerk Vladimir Akkerman, 69. The suspect is 18 to 22 years old, about 5-foot-6 and 180 pounds with a short Afro and wire-rim prescription glasses. A $50,000 reward is pending. Anyone with information is asked to call LAPD detectives at (213) 972-2910, (213) 972-2913 or (877) LAWFULL.
Update: LAPD Hollywood detectives have cleared this case. Rodney Bourgeois, 18, who police call the Limelight liquor suspect, was arrested Aug. 25.
 (HR has followed the aftermath of the murder of Dovon Harris, 15, struck by gunfire in Watts on June 15, 2007 and taken off life support a day later. In July, Barbara Pritchett, right, his mother, talked of her life one month after the murder. This week, which marks the two-month anniversary of her son's death, is not much different, she said.)
"I woke up with him on my mind. I'm going to go to the cemetery and just sit," Pritchett said Tuesday morning. She got some balloons and went by herself to place them at the spot where Dovon was shot, then headed to the gravesite.
Dovon's alleged shooter was arrested shortly after the killing. Since then, Pritchett said, police also arrested the driver of the car. The family has experienced their first court appearance--a highly stressful ordeal, she said. Pritchett quit her job after the homicide, and now stays home most days. Not so her teenage daughter, who continues working at the airport, despite tears that overcome her frequently. "It's still moment to moment, you know?" Pritchett said. "Today may be good, tomorrow may not."
 The weekly summary of all homicide victims in Los Angeles County based on records from the Los Angeles County coroner and information from police and other sources.
(The Virgen de Guadalupe at the shrine for victim Isaias Vasquez, 32, a native of Guerrero state in Mexico, in LAPD's Newton Division this week.)
 Isaias Vasquez Bazan, 32, a Latino man, was killed at 937 E. 32nd St. south of downtown about 1 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 12. His time of death was listed as 1:22 a.m.
A construction worker and father of two, he was standing with neighbors who were having a beer on the curb. The assailants were driving down the street in a black SUV when the shots were fired. Vasquez Bazan died at the scene. Two neighbors, both Latino men, were wounded and are expected to recover. Anyone with information is asked to call Newton Division detectives at (323) 846-6556.
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 (Left, his wife, daughter, and brother less than two days after Vasquez's death. His wife heard the shots and came outside. His brother had to tell their mother in Guerrero, Mexico. Vasquez Basan was tall, they said. He was quiet and serious with most people, but lively and humorous with his family, they said. He loved Norteno music. "A happy person," said his brother, Floriberto Bazan.The neighbors wounded in the attack were listed by police as gang members. But Basan worked long hours, and had no tattoos. Photo by Kevin Sites.)
*Update: Newton Homicide detectives Johnny Villa and Julio Benavides have cleared this case. The suspects were members of an area gang whose friend had been murdered by rival gang members some time ago. Police think the suspect may have been seeking revenge on this rival gang when they fired upon Vasquez's neighbors, and hit Vasquez instead. Vasquez was, in essence, the victim of a stray bullet, caught in a vengeful gang feud which had nothing to do with him.
Jose Sergio Morales, 25, a Latino man, was shot multiple times by a man who chased him down the street near the intersection of Brownell and Herrick streets in Pacoima about 9:20 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, said LAPD Det. Pat Barron. Morales was taken to Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 9:47 p.m. Morales was shot near a quinceanera party, but it was unclear whether he had been a guest there.
 Seth Grinspan, a 46-year-old white man, was stabbed at a homeless encampment in the bushes at 15349 Pacific Coast Highway on Saturday, Aug. 11. The coroner listed his time of death as 7:17 p.m.
Detectives said that Grinspan and another transient had quarreled. Grinspan ran down the highway near the beach and collapsed. Passersby called police. Meanwhile, the suspect, a Latino man, 48, went to Will Rogers Beach and threatened a woman lifeguard. She locked herself into the lifeguard tower and called colleagues. The suspect, covered in blood, was taken into custody. Grinspan died where he fell.
Peter Martinez, 20, was struck by a car and suffered massive blunt force injuries at 7304 White Oak Ave. in Reseda. He died at 5:19 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11. A $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the suspect in this case, which police described as a brutal road-rage incident.
Martinez was walking across White Oak at about 2:50 p.m. with his 18-year-old brother Alex. A faded Honda Civic driving northbound blew past them. The brothers yelled at the offending car. The driver pulled a U-turn and sped back, swerving toward the center divider where Martinez was standing. The driver struck Martinez very hard -- intentionally, investigators believe. He was taken to Northridge Medical Center, where he died.
Vehicular homicides are usually not catalogued as homicides by the Los Angeles County coroner unless they are intentional. The driver in this case is being sought by police. He is described as Latino or Middle-Eastern, nicely groomed, 25 to 35 years old. The Honda Civic is a 4-door 1995 or '96 model with a tinted rear window. The front was smashed in where it struck Martinez. Anyone with any information on this suspect is asked to call Det. Joel Price of LAPD West Los Angeles Division at (818) 374-7725, or (818) 374-7721.
Continue reading "Peter Martinez, 20" »
Jasmine Maxwell, a 7-week-old black infant, is listed as a homicide victim owing to starvation, dehydration and neglect, according to the Coroner. She died Aug. 10 at the Union Rescue Mission in downtown Los Angeles. Also known as Jashline, the infant was living with her mother Ranetta Maxwell. The mother is now wanted and faces a charge of felony child injury with special allegations.--Richard Winton/LAT staff
Continue reading "Jasmine Maxwell, 7 weeks" »
 Hiram T. Wooden Jr., 39, a black man, was found shot on Seaton Avenue near 5th and Alameda streets in Los Angeles at about 1 a.m. Friday, Aug. 10.
A passerby found Wooden, wounded and bleeding, and started to drive him to the hospital. Wooden's blood flowed all over the interior of his van, said Central Division Lt. Paul Vernon. Wooden's would-be rescuer saw an ambulance, flagged it down and handed his wounded passenger off to paramedics. The paramedics took him to a hospital, where he died about an hour later. Investigators believe he had been stabbed, and said another non-fatal stabbing in the area a few hours earlier might be related. Anyone with information is asked to call the LAPD at (877) LAWFULL (877-529-3855).
John Rico, 30, a Latino man, was shot in the head by a Los Angeles police officer at 5243 Huntington Drive North in El Sereno, and died at 9:31 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9.
Police gave this account: Two LAPD Hollenbeck officers were called to a domestic violence incident. The alleged victim, a pregnant woman, told them the suspect--Rico--had left the scene. The officers were still investigating the report when Rico came back and allegedly choked one of the officers, a male officer whom officials did not name. The officer became incapacitated, police said. His partner, Officer Jeanette Flores, 32, shot Rico, who died at the scene.
The officer who was choked was later treated and released at County-USC hospital for a head injury. Flores injured her hand, and was treated and released at Good Samaritan Hospital.
Masihi Manyam, a 49-year-old woman of Armenian descent, was shot multiple times at 612 E. Cypress Ave. in Burbank, one of three people to die in a double-murder and suicide on Thursday, Aug. 9. Police got many 911 calls about an active shooter at an apartment complex around 5:30 p.m. They said a neighbor dispute was at issue.
Manyam and Vahik Farhadian, below, were killed, and a third man, Farhadian's son, was wounded. The assailant then turned the gun on himself, Burbank police said. Officers found the assailant dead in an apartment.
Vahik Farhadian, a 48-year-old man of Armenian descent, was shot in the same double-homicide and suicide as Masihi Manyan, above. He was found in front of the building. His adult son was wounded in the attack.
Anita Delgado, 39, a Latina woman, was shot multiple times by police officers at 13935 Foothill Blvd. in Sylmar at about 12:40 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9. Police said she had held a woman hostage at gunpoint in an attempt to rob a bank.
Los Angeles police gave this account: They said officers responded to a "robbery in progress" call at the Bank of America, where Delgado had presented a demand note. As police were arriving, Delgado came out, holding a woman at gunpoint. That woman broke free and went back inside the bank. Delgado pointed her gun at officers. Officers Walter Boyle, 42, and Felipe Martinez, 25, both fired. Delgado was struck multiple times. Her gun turned out to be a plastic semi-automatic replica.
 Noel Velazco, 26, a Latino man, was killed in a drive-by shooting about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, in the 800 block of W. 43rd St. near Vermont Avenue. The death in the LAPD's Southwest Division took place at 9:56 a.m. The suspects were described as three Latino men or youths in a gray Buick Regal.
 In the days after his death, family members remembered him for his outsized personality, easy friendships and ears that stuck out. He had grown up in Los Angeles and was the father of three. Detectives called this a gang homicide. But Velazco also had a life as working man. He had a job as a house painter.
His twin brother Joel Velazco was also murdered about six years ago, the family said. His parents now have only one remaining son. "After this pain, we can lose nothing else," said his mother, right. She had to be hospitalized from stress after losing the second of her three sons to homicide. "God is in charge. Only he is in charge," she said. "I just ask God that the violence end."
Michael Petro, 45, a white man, was shot in the head at 1114 North Viceroy Street in Covina and died at 1:35 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9.
Marcelino Gonzales, 60, a Latino man, was stabbed multiple times in front of 11342 Mulhall Street in El Monte. His time of death was listed as 7:49 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 9. Sheriff's detectives called this case a murder-suicide. More information to come.
Neal Williams, 27, a white man, was killed along with his two sons, Devon, 7, and Ian, 3, small boys of mixed white/Asian descent, in the 18000 block of Camino Bello in Rowland Heights. Their bodies were found at about 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8. Williams died from multiple stab wounds. The boys were reported to have been suffocated. Williams' wife, Man-Ling Williams, 27, the mother of both children, was arrested.
Los Angeles Times
Devon Williams, 7, died in the same domestic triple-homicide as his father, above.
Ian Williams, 3, died in the same triple domestic homicide as his brother and father, above.
 Ricardo Favela, 15, a Latino youth, was confronted by other Latino men or youths on the sidewalk at the intersection of 8th and Oxford streets in Koreatown at about 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 8. One of his confronters pulled a gun out of his waistband and shot Favela. He was taken to County-USC hospital, where he died in surgery at about 8:10 p.m. He had grown up in the area, departed, and then returned, said Det. Javier Hernandez of LAPD's Wilshire station. (Left, Oxford Street. Some memorialized him with flowers, others with graffiti).
The shooting happened in daylight in a crowded area. Hernandez asked that anyone who saw or heard any aspect of what happened, or has information on the killing, call him or partner Det. Ron Cade at (213) 473-0446.
Jarrod Sellars, 32, a black man, was shot and killed by his girlfriend, a black woman, who then turned the gun on herself at 10116 Paloma Avenue in Watts at about 4:03 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7, police said. Both were transported to a hospital and pronounced dead. His death was timed exactly one hour after the shooting. Neighbors, who heard arguing and gunshots, called police. The couple's three children were in the house when the shooting happened.
Luis Velarde, 39, a Latino man, was shot in the chest at 5735 Halbrent Ave. in Van Nuys about 1:08 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7, and died at 2:38 p.m. He was outside when he was shot. He was from the area, said Det. Mike Coblentz of the LAPD's Van Nuys station.
Update: After most-mortem exam, it was found that the bullet's trajectory had gone nearly straight up, through his chest. The death was ruled an accident. He probably dropped his gun and it discharged. This case will be removed from the homicide list.
Leonel Huerta, 24, a Latino man, was shot and killed at the intersection of Florence Avenue and Broadway by two Latino men or youths in a car about 1:25 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7. Huerta's time of death was listed as 1:39 p.m. He was at a bus stop when a black SUV pulled up next to him and an occupant called him over to the vehicle. There was a brief conversation, and Huerta was shot by someone in the SUV, which sped away eastbound on Florence. Huerta died at the scene.
Armando Garcia, 32, a Latino man, was shot in the abdomen at 5937 Middleton St. in Huntington Park on Feb. 15, in a shooting that also killed his brother. Armando Garcia died at a hospital at 5:05 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7, after lingering six months. Garcia and his brother Gilberto Garcia, 33, were sitting in a car when gunmen drove or walked up and opened fire, said Sgt. John Navarette of the Huntington Park Police Department. Gilberto died shortly afterward, but Armando remained hospitalized. The case is now a double homicide.
(This is the last post on the weekly list of homicide victims.)
Last week, this page covered a routine news conference at LAPD's Southwest Division station for detectives to seek help from the public in two July murder cases.
The event took an unusual turn, when the two bereaved mothers, Ora Smith, mother of victim Aric Lexing, and Gwen Presley, mother of victim Michael Presley, delivered impassioned speeches instead of the usual quiet pleas. "The best I've heard," one cameraman quietly told Smith after the event. The speeches were cut from at least one newscast, however, and Det. Vince Carreon, investigator on the Presley case, was so disappointed that he asked if they could somehow get air time. So here, courtesy of KTLA, are what these two mothers had to say.
  Background: Lexing, 26, far left, had just gotten his graduate degree and was trying to get hired by the Border Patrol when he was killed in a shooting that also killed his friend Scott Grant, 40, about 3:30 a.m. July 20 in the 4000 block of Stevely Drive in lower Baldwin Hills.
Presley, 19, near left, was shot in the 4500 block of West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard a short distance away in a separate homicide about 9 p.m. July 15. His mother has suffered bereavement by homicide twice: Michael's father was shot to death in 1987. The two are buried in the same grave.
Southwest detectives seek tips in both cases. Their number is (213) 485-2417.
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A shrine on the street Monday for last week's Southwest Los Angeles homicide victim Noel Velazco, 26. He was the second son in his family to die this way; his twin brother, Joel, was shot and killed on the same street six years ago.
 At the hospital, they told Karen Wayland to wait in the chapel.
That's when she knew.
Earlier she had gotten a phone call. But the caller said only that her son, 18-year-old Jayvon, had been shot.
She rushed to the scene. Officers sent her to the hospital. She went. She asked to see him.
They showed her the chapel. She balked at the door. "I don't want to go," she protested. "I know what that is!"
They coaxed her in. They closed the door.
Wayland could hardly breathe. Finally, the doctors and police came. She knew what was coming. She nearly passed out anyway.
Afterward she would remember one phrase from the conversation: Jayvon, she recalled them saying, "didn't have a drop of blood left in his body" by the time he arrived at the hospital.
  Jayvon Brister died of gunshot injury at 8:57 p.m. Monday, July 30. He had been attacked at Century Boulevard and Denver Avenue just west of the Harbor Freeway while riding a bicycle.
He had attended Locke High School but didn't graduate. He was aiming instead for a technical certificate. He had taken some classes in mechanics at Compton Community College.
He was a natural fix-it man, constantly tinkering with the car, the microwave, his stereos, the TV, his family said. "He was always fixing up something I didn't want him touching," his grandmother said. Police suspect gang motives in the shooting, but it remains unsolved.
(Above, Wayland tries to put her son's broken glasses back together before the funeral. Above left, the bicycle shrine where he died. "I just want everyone into that gang stuff to know they need to leave that alone," she said. "Them bullets ain't got nobody's name on them." )
 The Homicide Report has added a new feature to this page: The interactive map and picture gallery. Click on the link below "Our Blogger" at right to view.
The map shows all Los Angeles County homicides from the most recent week; scroll back to see previous homicides. Click on a tab above the map to see photos of some of the victims.
There is a search button in the lower left corner you can use to call up lists of homicides by name, place and date or date range. You can also use the filter to search by other criteria, including age, race and cause of death.
(The Times is grateful to USC professor Michael Quick for an earlier version of the map he created that was used in making the new map. More on this later).
Continue reading "New homicide map and picture gallery" »
(HR's weekly list of victims. The names will be added to the map at right.)
 Robert McGhee, a black man, 22 years old according to the coroner (other public records state his age as 18), was shot and killed in the 300 block of Shrode Avenue in Monrovia on Monday, Aug. 6, at 11 p.m. He died at the scene at 11:09 p.m.
His father, William McGhee, 64, was arrested and charged with murder. Sheriff's Lt. Dave Smith said authorities believe McGhee argued with his son, then retrieved a shotgun and killed him.
 Emelio Perez, 17, a Latino youth, was shot by walk-up assailants at 600 E. 24th St. near the intersection of 25th Street and Trinity Street, the location of a public park, in LAPD's Newton Division. He was shot in the upper torso. Perez was taken to California Hospital Medical Center, where he died at 12:28 a.m. Monday, Aug. 6.
This was a stray-bullet homicide, said Det. Kelle Baitx. Perez had no gang ties; he had been in this country just 21 days. He had been playing basketball in the park, left, and was walking to the drinking fountain when the bullets, fired by gang combatants who were aiming for someone else, struck him instead.
* Update: Newton detectives have cleared this case. A suspect is in custody.
Artemio Alvarado, 23, a Latino man, was struck by as many as four bullets from an assault rifle at 1109 W. Chandler St. in Wilmington, in the LAPD's Harbor Division, about 12:50 a.m. Monday, Aug. 6. He died at the scene at 12:59.
 Cristela Campos, 23, a Latina woman, was shot and killed about 5:50 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5, near the intersection of Avalon Boulevard and 69th Street in LAPD's Newton Division. She died at 6:05 p.m. Police arrested 27-year-old Miguel Romero, her ex-boyfriend.
 LAPD detectives gave this account: A gunman pulled alongside Campos in a car, forced her to pull over, then fired. She died at the scene. Her younger brother, who was with her, wrestled Romero to the ground with the help of passersby; they held him until police arrived. The brother, who is about 20, was injured by bullet fragments in the tussle and was treated at a hospital and released that night. He learned later that his sister had died. Romero was arrested and a weapon seized.
<p>Campos was the mother of four children, at least one of whom, a 6-year-old, saw her die. "I know I'm dying. Take care of my children," Campos told her mother after she was shot, according to Rocio Machuca, a family friend. Campos had separated from Romero, the father of one of the children, in February.
The Campos family has set up a memorial fund for donations to help the children. Contact Bank of America to donate to account No. 0350967513, "Memorial Account for Cristela Campos."
 Kareem Wafer, 31, a black man, was shot in the back on Hoover Street between 46th and 45th streets about 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5, in LAPD's 77th Street Division. Officers got a "shots fired" call and found Wafer lying on the ground, said Det. John Zambos. He died within an hour. Left, the spot where the shooting occurred, near a small market.
*Update: LAPD Dets. John Zambos and Leo Kerchenske of LAPD South Bureau's 77th Street unit have cleared this case. A suspect, Uriel Ortega, a 24-year-old Latino man, was arrested and charged in Wafer's murder. The two were from the same neighborhood, and had quarreled over something; it was not made clear what.
 Walter McGowan, 64, a black man, was found shot in his white GMC Yukon parked at 310 N. Prairie Ave. in Inglewood about 8:15 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 5.
Police, who had received a call of an adult who wasn't breathing, found McGowan in the driver's seat with a bullet wound in his neck. The vehicle was parked between two businesses. McGowan was pronounced dead at the scene. Anyone who was in the area and may have information is asked to call Inglewood detectives at (310) 412-5246 or the police tip line at (888) 412-7463.
Edbert Ordonez, 26, a Latino man, was stabbed multiple times at 1597 Balboa St. in Pomona and died at 12:07 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 5.
Continue reading "Edbert Ordonez, 26" »
Ray Toothman, 40, a white man, was shot through the shoulder and skull at 39104 161st St. E. in northern Los Angeles County to the northwest of Castaic, and died at 2:40 a.m. Aug. 5. Sheriff's homicide detectives were investigating. More to come.
Onesimo Arturo Guzman, 29, a Latino man, was shot in the head by a state park ranger Saturday, Aug. 4, about 3:26 p.m. near Las Virgenes Road and Piuma Road in Tapia Park near Malibu. He died at 3:47 p.m. The ranger, responding to reports of gunshots, spotted Guzman in the car with three other people. California Parks and Recreation officials said the ranger tried to stop the car, but it kept moving and bumped him; the ranger then shot Guzman. Sheriff's homicide detectives were investigating.
L.A. Times article
The information available on this homicide is incomplete. More on this to come.
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