Black men as victims of crime: 'I wake up in a cold sweat.'

Of all Americans, black men have the most to fear from violent crime. Even Latino men, who suffer their own high homicide rates, are much less likely than black men to be murdered.

Older black men, like 50-year-old Charles Malone, interviewed here, are at serious risk--a neglected high-risk group. While advocacy efforts tend to focus on young people, more black men aged 40 to 50 were hospitalized for assault-related injuries than black youths 18 and under, according to 2001-2006 data from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. In 2004, black men 45 to 54 in Los Angeles County were nearly five times more likely to be murdered than Latino men in the same age group, and 14 times more likely than white men.*

Name: Charles Malone, 50

Occupation: None, since he was disabled in a shooting in 1996. At various times before that, he has been a juvenile delinquent, a Southwest College student, a school-district worker, a detention officer for the department of probation and an instructor at a local gym. He has also spent time incarcerated--for grand theft when he was 40.

Residence: Walnut, formerly of Watts, where he was interviewed.

Chance he will be murdered in a given year*: 4.8 in 10,000.

Chance a Latino man will be: 1 in 10,000

Chance a white man will be: 1/3 in 10,000

HR: How did you get the scar?

Malone: I was standing at a bus stop at Crenshaw and Hyde Park. I was coming home from work, still wearing my gym uniform -- a shirt and shorts. It was summer twilight. I was looking up the street for the bus, and had my back turned.

That's when I heard really loud pops behind me. Really, really loud, like a few feet away. I ran about 10 feet, and then I felt something trickle down my buttock. I reached back. It was blood. I just stopped. Someone was yelling at me to sit down, so I sat.

The paramedics came and ripped my clothes off me and took me to King-Drew. I had been shot five times. Three times in the stomach, twice in the buttock. The last thing I remember was going into surgery. King-Drew hospital saved my life.

HR: What was your recovery like?

Malone: I remember waking up three days later on a machine. I was in the hospital for two weeks and it took me four months to recover.  I had to be wheeled around on a gurney. My mom and sister had to do all that. I had a colostomy bag for three months.

Victims, Oct. 23-28, 2007

As always, homicides reported in previous days are updated in this weekly, comprehensive chronological list based on records from the Los Angeles County coroner. On this week's list, two local artists: Poet Ebrahim Torbati and theater actor Darius Ever Truly.

(Left, a sign left on Torbati's garment-district store after his murder).

.

Rogelio Parra, 23

Rogelio Parra, a Latino man, 23, was stabbed in the back during an apparent robbery attempt at 43rd and Ascot Avenue in South-Central Los Angeles at about 4:50 a.m. Oct. 28; he was taken to County-USC hospital, where he died at 5:50 a.m. The suspects are two Latinos in their late teens. Parra was a tamale salesman from Guerrero, Mexico, much liked by people in the neighborhood. LAPD Newton investigates.

Juan Urbina Castellon, 26

Juan Jose Urbina-Castellon, 26, a Latino man, was shot and killed at 605 W. Opp St. near Neptune Avenue in Wilmington in what police believe was a dispute among acquaintances. He died at the scene at 3:48 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 28. It was the second killing in one night for LAPD Harbor's homicide unit.

Anyone with tips, including anonymous ones, is asked to give the detectives a call, or send an email. (310) 522-2036 or 21881@lapd.lacity.org.

Laterian Tasby, 17

Laterian Tasby, 17, a black youth, was shot and killed at a party at 572 W. 11th St. near Pacific in San Pedro at about midnight on Oct. 28. He was attending a Halloween party with other students at San Pedro High School, where he played both football and basketball. Uninvited guests turned up, and there was a fight. Gunfire erupted in the backyard, hitting Laterian, who died at the scene.

There were many witnesses--teenagers and students at San Pedro High School, according to police. Very few have cooperated with the investigation, said Det. Sid Rodriguez of LAPD Harbor Homicide. Some cite fear; others say "snitching" is frowned upon, he said. "Even the good kids now won't snitch," he said.

San Pedro High School principal Bob Di Pietro said school staff had launched a "big outreach" to help students deal with their grief, including organized meetings in the school library with counselors. He said he was not surprised that students were not coming forward, but said he had no plans as yet to deal formally with the problem. "Detectives are handling it," he said. Detectives are at (310) 522-2036.

Randy Walls, 18

Randy Spencer Walls, 18, a black young man, was shot about 9:34 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, at 9206 Park Street in Bellflower. Severely injured, he struggled in the hospital to survive and died Oct. 27 at 7:24 p.m.

Sheriff's Det. Joe Sheehy said a Latino man or youth came up behind Walls and shot him at close range -- perhaps from about 10 feet away. Walls was a high-school graduate, he said. Anyone with information, including anonymous tips, is asked to call Sheehy at (323) 890-5500.

Eddie Guerra, 23

Eddie Terry Guerra, 23, a Latino man, was shot and killed at 2448 El Segundo Blvd. in Willowbrook at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, and died at the scene.

Guerra had been at a local liquor store, and asked a friend to give him a ride to the home of ex-girlfriend. He arrived, uninvited, at her house to find she was holding a barbeque. He made a scene, investigators said. Someone shot him and fled the scene. The ex-girlfriend and fellow party hosts were in the back, and only heard the gunshots. A suspect or suspects remain at large.

Right, four candles and a bucket of flowers for Guerra on a broad sidewalk along El Segundo Boulevard.

.

Luis Rodriguez, 34

Luis Rodriguez, 34, a Latino man, was shot and killed in the 14300 block of Orange Avenue in Paramount at 6:35 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27. His time of death was listed as 7:04 p.m.

He was hanging out in front of a liquor store with a friend when he was shot, possibly by another Latino man or youth, who fled the scene. Police had documented him as a member of a local gang which may have been skirmishing with a rival gang in that area in recent weeks or months.

Miguel Morales, 40

Miguel Morales, 40, a Latino man, was shot dead in the driver's seat of his bandit "on time" taxicab in the 500 block of Sloat Street in Boyle Heights at about 3:45 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27. Officers got a call of a shooting, and found Morales with a gunshot wound to the head. LAPD Hollenbeck detectives are investigating.

Darius Truly, 26

Darius Ever Truly, 26, a black man, was found stabbed to death in the 3600 block of Bentley Avenue in Palms about 3:20 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. He had been at a party--large and loud enough for police to have come at some point during the night to quiet guests. Afterward, he was walking down the street with a cousin. A suspect, or perhaps more than one, walked up and stabbed them both. Truly died at the scene. The cousin was not as badly injured, and ran away.

Truly was an actor. He had studied theater in college, said a college friend, and had arrived from Tennessee in recent months to play Black Panther Bobby Seale in a production of "The Chicago Conspiracy Trial" at the Odyssey Theatre. The production was reviewed by both the L.A. Weekly and the Los Angeles Times. He had no criminal record, nor do police believe he was involved in any way in local street fighting or gang wars.

Los Angeles Times story

Juan Ruelas II, 22

Juan Ruelas II, a 22-year-old Latino young man, was shot once in the 5800 block of Esperanza Avenue in unincorporated Whittier, and died at 2:10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27. HR is seeking more information on this case.

Rodrigo Ponce, 16

A 16-year-old Latino was shot and killed, and three other teenagers were wounded, one critically, in a shooting near 43rd and Wall streets in South-Central Los Angeles, LAPD Newton area, at about 10:40 a.m. Friday, Oct. 26, according to police. Rodrigo Ponce, 16 died at 11:37 a.m.

Ponce and his three friends were hanging out when two Latino men or youths approached and asked, "Where are you from?" The victims said they belonged to no gang, but the suspects shot everyone in their group. Ponce died at the scene; a 15-year-old girl was struck several times and taken to a hospital in critical condition. Another 15-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were hit, but suffered less serious injuries. The suspects fled.

Below, Ponce's jacket on an office chair with pictures of Jesus Christ, and a donation jar on the counter of the small Latino grocery store on the corner where he died. Ponce did not go to school, and spent time with documented gang members, but he was well-liked by neighbors despite this. Clerks at the store said he went to a local bakery and bought neighbors coffee every morning. Dollar bills lined the bottom of the jar.

Update: Newton detectives have presented a case against a suspect in this case, and prosecutors have filed charges. He remains outstanding.

.

.

Eddie Green Jr., 31

Eddie Green Jr., 31, a black man, was shot and killed at the intersection of 85th Street and 11th Avenue at 11:26 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25. Police responding to a call of shots heard found him dead on the sidewalk. A black man or youth was seen running to a gray car, which sped off. Green's time of death was listed as 11:44 p.m.

.

Willie Myles, 23

Willie Myles, 23, a black man, died at a hospital at 8:09 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 25. His death came after he suffered for three weeks from gunshot wounds to the chest and back he received on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 1717 East 103rd Street in Watts.

Myles was well known in the neighborhood and frequented the train station. His killer was a black man or youth who quarreled with him briefly, then shot him and ran to a  waiting car--an older-model white two-door--which sped away. LAPD South Bureau is investigating. (213) 485-4341. More information to come.

Arthur Brown III, 18

Arthur William Brown III, 18, a black youth, was shot in the neck near the intersection of Mayfair Avenue and Bolivar Street in Pomona, and died at 12:23 a.m. Oct. 24. HR is seeking more information on this victim.

Jose Valdez, 38

Jose Valdez, 38, a Latino man, was shot at 6312 Makee Ave. in the Florence area at about 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 24. He died at the scene--in an alley-- about 4:20 p.m. The suspects are Latino. More information to come.

Deric Wesley, 40

Deric De Carlo Wesley, 40, a black man, was stabbed by a man on a bicycle at the northwest corner of Vernon and Western avenues in South-Central Los Angeles at about 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, said LAPD South Bureau Det. Dave Garrido.

Wesley was taken to California Hospital in extremely critical condition. He survived on life support for more than two weeks before dying at 8:50 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23.

A couple of hours after Wesley was stabbed, a suspect was arrested. The suspect, a 54-year-old black man, had insisted that Wesley owed him $5, and stabbed him over the debt.

(Left, Garrido at the crime scene Oct. 8.)

.

.

Jonathan Morales, 17

Jonathan Alfred Morales, 17, a Latino youth, was stabbed once in the chest at the corner of Van Ness Street and Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood on Tuesday, Oct. 23, at about 6:40 p.m.. He died at 7:23 p.m. from his injuries. The suspects in the case are two other Latino men or youths. One is in jail; the other is at large, authorities said. More to come.

Ebrahim Torbati, 71

Ebrahim Torbati, a 71-year-old man of Iranian descent, was shot in the neck by a would-be robber in his shop at 840 Santee St., in L.A.'s fashion district downtown, at about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, and died at 4:54 p.m.

LAPD Det. Doug Pierce of Central Division said the suspect--a black man 25 to 30 years old, slim, 5-foot-6, with a gray cap and shirt (pictured in sketch at right)--came to the store posing as a customer, left briefly, then returned and reached into the drawer in Torbati's desk where he kept his cash. Torbati tried to stop him. The man shot him, then ran north to 8th Street and Maple Avenue, where two women waited for him in a white Toyota Camry. They escaped. Det. Pierce is at (213) 972-1254.

Torbati was a poet and the owner of Rug City. Click here for dispatch "At Last, the poem is going to kill me," and three translations of his poems.

(This is the end of this week's list of all homicide victims in Los Angeles County).

Chinatown case

(This homicide has not yet been listed by the coroner.)

Chinatown: Stanley Garcia, 52, a Latino man, died Friday, Oct. 19, three weeks after he was shot several times on Alpine Street in Chinatown and suffered what were at first thought to be non-life-threatening injuries. A determination of homicide came sometime after his death, hence the delay in this posting. LAPD Central detectives are investigating.

According to Lt. Paul Vernon, Garcia was one of the last surviving documented members of the Alpine street gang. This happens sometimes: Gangs go out of business.

Dispatch: Four months after a homicide

Dovon Harris, 15, was murdered in Watts four months ago, dying on June 17. The Homicide Report has been following his family's experience in monthly installments since then.

This month would have been Dovon's 16th birthday.

His family celebrated with cake in a rented hall. Scores of friends and family members attended. Dovon's siblings and close friends blew out the candles.

"I was thinking about him all the time," his mother, Barbara Pritchett, said. "Thinking about what he would be doing if he were there. He'd be messing with everybody."

Pritchett had been doing OK, she said--back to normal, ostensibly, and on the job as a health-care worker.

But three days after the party, she fell apart.

It was her own birthday. When Dovon was alive, he always found her in the kitchen first thing in the morning, and said, "Here's your day! Here's your kiss!"

In the morning, she drove her brother to school. Then, "I came back and I never made it out of the car," she said. "I sat in the car for three hours and cried."

The next day, she went to work, and the same thing happened. "I was supposed to take the patient for errands," she said. "But when I went, I just sat in the car crying. I finally had to go inside and apologize."

On the next day she went to a medical center to inquire about counseling. She felt ill at ease, she said. "But I'm determined not to let this beat me. I know I need counseling."

Other family members are also registering the effects of grief. Since the murder, some relatives who once felt at ease at Pritchett's house now seem to feel uncomfortable there. Pritchett, her siblings, and her children, tell each other they are fine even when they're not. They go off alone to cry.

Dewayne Harris, 26, Dovon's older brother (second from left), spent one day recently alone at the grave, sobbing.

Dovon's 18-year-old sister Dwaina (right) attended a meeting for teenagers held by the pastor at her church. They talked about the murder. Many of the teens were angry. Why? they asked.

Afterward Dwaina had one of her dreams about Dovon. She dreamed he was there at the meeting. "Every question everyone asked, he had an answer," she said. Then she woke up, and the answers weren't there anymore.

See Three Months After, and, Two Months After, and, One Month After.

Dispatch: 'At last the poem is going to kill me.'

Ebrahim Torbati was a poet--and a reluctant exile.

He stayed in his native Tehran long after many of his Jewish contemporaries had fled Iran, said his nephew Arman Mehrfar, 37, a New York criminal defense attorney. He stayed because he loved Persian culture and its tradition of poetry, and he was heartbroken at the prospect of leaving, his nephew said.

Only in 1990 did this intellectual who spoke five languages,had studied English literature and wrote books in Farsi, find himself reduced to peddling rugs in a tiny no-frills storefront called "Rug City" on Santee Street in Los Angeles, where he was killed by a robber Oct. 23 at the age of 71.

People, culture, and life--not material things--were what mattered to Torbati, Mehrfar said. Having flown to Los Angeles after his uncle's death, his nephew wasn't surprised to find that his uncle had not  maintained the most basic documents to settle his affairs. Torbati simply didn't care about such things.

He lived in a little efficiency apartment in the Valley, did crossword puzzles all day at his desk in the shop and read constantly. He was on page 173 of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Love in the Time of Cholera" when he died.

"He was unique--exceptionally smart, exceptionally well-read," Mehrfar said.  "He didn't care so much about rugs. It was just a way to make a modest living. He was a terrible businessman because he was a poet..He could barely tie his own shoes. He was one of those geniuses whose mental meanderings were beyond what most people experience their whole lives."

(For more, and translations of Torbati's poems click 'read on' below)

Victims, Oct. 15-21, 2007

This is the weekly list of victims killed in Los Angeles County between Oct. 15 and Oct. 21, 2007, the day wildfires broke out throughout the county (left). Cases reported earlier on HR are updated here with confirmed records from the Los Angeles County coroner. No teenagers this week.

Miguel Luis Vasquez, 33

Miguel Luis Vasquez, 33, a Latino man, was found dead in the trunk of a car in the 4400 block of Paramount Boulevard in Pico Rivera in the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 21. The coroner listed his time of death as 4:37 p.m., and determined that he was a homicide victim. No one had seen him for two weeks, said Sgt. Chris Brackpool of sheriff's homicide bureau. But they had not reported him missing.

Esteban Tanory, 46

Esteban Tanory, 46, a Latino man, was stabbed at 4905 6th St. in Compton and died at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 21. More to come.

Felix Nolasco, 52

Felix Nolasco, 52, a Latino man, was shot in the head on the eastbound Interstate 10 Freeway at Frazier Avenue near Baldwin Park. His time of death was listed as 1:18 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 21. More to come.

John Millyard, 38

John Millyard, 38, a white man, was shot at about 8:12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, at 14085 Terra Bella St. in Panorama City and died at 10:50 p.m. Officers got a call of an assault. They found Millyard lying in the street wounded. He was taken to Holy Cross hospital, where he died. He was not from this area, and investigators are seeking to find his family. Authorities cited records showing Millyard spending time in Arizona and Utah.

Victor Nunez, 24

Victor Nunez, 24, a Latino man, was shot and killed at a wedding reception in the 44200 block of 130th Street in Lancaster, and died at 10:40 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, according to Los Angeles Sheriff's Sgt. Chris Brackpool. He said Nunez tried to intervene in a fight between the groom and another man at the party. The man, also Latino, left, then came back and killed him.

Kevin Lopez, 23

Kevin Lopez, 23, a Latino man, was shot multiple times at O'Melveny Avenue and Kelowna Street in Pacoima, and died at 4:20 a.m. Friday, Oct. 20. More to come.

Santos Castillo Jr., 21

Santos Castillo Jr., 21, a Latino young man, was shot in the abdomen during a large Holloween flyer party in the 17800 block of Arvida Street in Granada Hills about 11:40 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, and died at 3 a.m. Oct. 20.

He was inside when a man whom police called a documented gang member walked up to him and began arguing. The argument spilled outside onto the sidewalk, and Castillo, who police said was not a documented gang member, was shot. He was from Sun Valley. Detectives need to talk to anyone who was at the party, "but by the time we got there, everyone was gone," said Det. Mike Fesperman of LAPD Devonshire. He can be reached at (818) 332-0537.