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 The following 14 posts represent the 14 people who died from homicide in Los Angeles County for the most recent period covered by the coroner, Nov. 19-25, 2007. Homicides listed earlier in the week are updated here with additional information, and presented chronologically, in order of the victim's death. These lists are published every week; to go back further, and view all previous lists from 2007, scroll down or see the archive at right. The Homicide Report has covered about 90% of L.A. County homicides this year. Several dozen cases have yet to be added to the list. At left, candles for one of the two 15-year-old boys who were murdered in L.A. County during this period--Joshua Bedolla, who was gunned down in Florence.
 Jason Wei, 42, an Asian American man, was killed by gunfire during a restaurant robbery at 815 W. Naomi St. in Arcadia at about 9:24 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 25. Arcadia police Lt. Larry Goodman said a Latino suspect dressed in dark clothing with a dark beanie came into the Osaka Ya sushi restaurant, where Wei worked, and took money from the cash register. The restaurant was still open; a few customers and other employees were inside. Goodman said they offered no resistance, and the suspect simply shot Wei for unknown reasons and fled. Wei was taken to nearby Methodist Hospital, where he died. Arcadia police are looking for information on this case. Det. John Bonoma is at (626) 574-5166.
Please see previous post for a video-still of Wei's killer, who is still at a large.
 Timothy Johnson, 37, a black man, was shot multiple times at 939 E. 92nd Street in Watts at about 3:23 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 25, and died at the scene. Police officers had received a "shots fired" call and found him. He had been visiting friends in the area.
He had gone to a party that night, then had stopped on his way home to socialize with friends outside. His shooters came by walking or driving. He was hit multiple times. When officers arrived, he was alone, dead on the ground, and the people who had been outside with him had disappeared. A pit-bull puppy chained in the yard was curled on his body.
 Esteban Garcia, a 15-year-old Latino youth, was shot at 2125 S. Hooper Ave. around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, according to LAPD Newton-area detectives. He was taken to County-USC Hospital, where he died. Garcia was driving a car out of an alley when the bullet hit him. His foot slammed into the accelerator, and the car lurched forward and flipped over. Garcia was a student in Santa Monica. His family had recently moved from the area, but he had returned to visit. (The picture at left was taken three years ago, when he was 12.) LAPD Newton detectives are at (323) 846-6556.
*Update: Newton detectives have cleared this case.
Luis Martinez, 23, a Latino man, was shot at least three times in the 1400 block of Lockwood Street in West Covina and died at about 10:10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24.
Joshua Bedolla, a 15-year-old Latino youth, was hit multiple times by gunfire at 1774 Florence Ave. in Florence at about 11:25 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, and died at the scene. Joshua, a Huntington Park high school student, was walking on the street by himself. The suspects -- older Latino teenagers --drove up, got out, shot him and then escaped. They were driving a 2004 to 2006 silver or gray Honda Accord with tinted windows. Sheriff's detectives are looking for the car, or any other leads on this case. Call Det. Mark Lillienfeld at (323) 890-5500.
Flora Fuentes, 71, a Latina, was discovered dead of stab wounds in her apartment at 725 S. Alvarado Street in LAPD's Rampart Division in Westlake at about noon on Saturday, Nov. 24. She ran a Salvadoran restaurant with her family, and usually opened the business up early in the morning. When she failed to do so on this day, family members went to the apartment -- where she lived alone -- and discovered her dead on the floor with numerous stab wounds, said Rampart Det. Fred Faustino. There was no sign of forced entry, detectives said.
Continue reading "Flora Fuentes, 71" »
 Joshua Pipho, a 20-year-old white young man, was stabbed approximately 16 times on a roadway inside a condominium complex at 25216 Steinbeck Ave. in Stevenson Ranch in Valencia at 1:48 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, and died at the scene. Pipho was among a group of young men who got into a fight with another group in a dispute that "got out of hand," said Sheriff's Lt. Dan Rosenberg. About 10 to 15 people were involved in the melee, which culminated with a suspect pulling out a knife and stabbing Pipho. A second youth was also stabbed -- an 18-year-old who survived but remained hospitalized. The suspects, also white young men, fled.
Zerfie Getahun, a 33-year-old woman of Ethiopian descent, was fatally stabbed multiple times, as was her father, at 1230 W. 39th Street in LAPD's Southwest Division either Nov. 19 or Nov. 20, although her body was not found until several days later. Her father, the other victim of this double homicide, was identified as Getahun Reta, 75. According to LAPD South Bureau detectives, father and daughter were stabbed inside the home by Reta's 33-year-old son, possibly a step- or half-brother to Zerfie. The son then drove up to a rural area of Fresno and dumped the father's dismembered body on the side of a freeway. He then returned and took Zerfie Getahun's body and dumped it along the 101 Freeway south of Santa Barbara. Fresno police found the father's body, and traced the case back to Los Angeles. When police went to the home and knocked on the door, Reta's son tried to climb out a window to escape. But he was caught, and charged. Zerfie Getahun is listed as a homicide in Los Angeles County; her father's case was officially a Fresno County coroner case as of today.
LA Times story
 Mario Gutierrez, a 37-year-old Latino man, was shot at 4442 Verdemour Ave. in El Sereno about 10:45 p.m. Nov. 22, Thanksgiving, and died at the scene. LAPD Hollenbeck detectives said that Gutierrez and his brother-in-law got into an argument during the family's Thanksgiving gathering over a remark the brother-in-law had made about Gutierrez's wife. The argument escalated to pushing and shoving, then spilled out onto the street where Gutierrez was shot. The 27-year-old brother-in-law turned himself in to police a few hours later.
*Update: Police said the brother-in-law was later released; prosecutors said the killing was self-defense. Guitierrez, they said, had fought with others and picked up a chunk of cement to lob.
 Damon Barney, 32, a black man, was shot in the 800 block of W. 97th Street in South Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 21, at about 11:30 p.m. and died shortly after, at 12:10 a.m. Nov. 22. He had been in the street with a group of people. There was a screaming argument, possibly over a woman, then gunshots. Police arrived and found him down, on the sidewalk. He was taken to a hospital. LAPD Southeast detectives seek information. Dets. Sam Marullo and Nathan Kouri are at (213) 485-4341.
Moises Salinas, 24, died after being shot multiple times at 1048 W. Kensington Road in Angelino Heights at about 2:24 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21. He was sitting in the passenger seat of a parked car, and someone came up on foot and killed him. LAPD Rampart homicide detectives are investigating.
 Jeffrey Sinclair, 17, a black youth, was shot multiple times at 825 W. 54th Street in LAPD's 77th Street Division at about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20. He was taken to California Hospital, where he died at 9:45 p.m.
His mother was incarcerated; he lived with his grandparents. He had been on his bicycle just before he was attacked. The bicycle fell near him at the homicide scene. .
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Juan Mazariegos, a 20-year-old Latino young man, was shot in the
back at 5746 Aldama St. in Highland Park at about 8:15 p.m. Monday,
Nov. 19. He was taken to Pasadena's Huntington Memorial Hospital, where
he died. He was standing with friends when young men in a car drove up
and started shooting. Mazariegos was studying to become an electrician,
police said.
Blanca Molina, 36, a Latina woman, died on Monday, Nov. 19, more than two weeks after she was shot in the neck in the 200 block of Arbor Vitae in Inglewood. She had just arrived at her home on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 4, and was confronted by a Latino man or youth in a black jacket who shot her. Severely wounded, she was on life support for 15 days.
(This is the last post in the comprehensive coroner's list of homicides in Los Angeles County for the period Nov. 19-25.)
Los Angeles police today released this composite sketch of a suspect, right, believed to have stabbed 23-year-old Rogelio Parra, left, in a robbery attempt at 43rd and Ascot in South-Central Los Angeles at about 4:50 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 28.
He is described as a Latino young man, 18 to 22 years old, of small build.
Parra was a popular neighborhood tamale seller from Guerrero state, Mexico.
Anyone with any information is asked to call Newton homicide Dets. Mike Terrazas or Rogelio Sandoval at (323) 846-6556.
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  Arcadia police are looking for this man, who killed restaurant worker Jason Wei, 42, during a robbery at a sushi place at 815 W. Naomi Street on Sunday evening, Nov. 25. (See entry below).
Near left, victim Wei. Anyone with information is asked to call Arcadia detectives at (626) 574-5166.
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 Dovon Harris, 15, was murdered in Watts five months ago, dying on June 17. The Homicide Report has been following his family's experience in monthly installments since then.
This month, a very short, belated report on Barbara Pritchett, Dovon's mother:
 Readers may recall that by four months after Dovon's murder, Barbara Pritchett had gone back to her job as a home-health worker. She had taken the first steps toward seeking counseling for her grief over her son's death. But her grief remained a daily struggle. She reported having problems functioning at work, and had taken two sick days because of uncontrollable crying.
This month, when HR checked in five months after Dovon's death, Pritchett said she had been forced to give up working, too emotionally distraught to hold herself together on the job with consistency. She is back at home now during the day, providing child care for other family members. She had finally settled on a counseling service to send a therapist to her home, but was still waiting for the agency to set an appointment. The upcoming holidays were proving difficult to face without her son, and she said she was focused on "just trying to get through" Thanksgiving and Christmas. HR will return to Dovon's family for a longer report the week before Christmas to mark the six-month point since his murder.
See Four Months After a Homicide, Three Months After, Two Months After and One Month After.
The following 11 posts represent the comprehensive list of people killed by homicide in Los Angeles County for the period Nov. 13-19, 2007, as reported to the county coroner. Each week, the Homicide Report matches preliminary information from law enforcement and other sources to coroner's case files to produce this summary.
Avory Dunn, 45, a black man, was shot multiple times in the 300 block of South Poinsettia Avenue in Compton around 11 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Sheriff's detectives are investigating. More to come.
Jesus Barrera, a 30-year-old Latino man, was shot and killed Sunday, Nov. 18, at about 10:02 p.m. in the 1700 block of New Hampshire Street near Venice Boulevard, part of the Byzantine-Latino Quarter in LAPD's Rampart Division. Police responding to a report of an injury shooting found him dead at the scene. The man has not been identified. Investigators are still trying to determine who he was.
Christopher Ingram, a 19-year-old black young man, was pronounced dead at a hospital at 8:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, probably about 15 hours after being wounded in what was believed to be a Harbor-area shooting Nov. 17.
The wounded young man was dropped off at a local hospital by someone. He collapsed on the pavement outside the emergency room. Trauma surgeons operated, and he survived until the following day, then died. Harbor detectives are working backward from that moment to figure out what happened to him.
He had just recently moved back to San Pedro from Texas.
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.
 Robert Jones, 27, a black man, was shot in the neck and killed in the parking lot of the CVS Pharmacy at Crenshaw Boulevard and Coliseum in LAPD's Southwest Division at about 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 18.
A large group of people had gathered in the parking lot, hanging out at this popular cruising locale, said Det. Frank Alvelais of LAPD South Bureau homicide. Two groups of women began fighting, possibly over male attention, said detectives. Jones tried to intervene and break up the fight. Friends of the women set upon him in retaliation, beat him, then shot him and tried to escape in a black Hummer.
Quick work by LAPD patrol officers made sure they didn't succeed. Two officers patrolling nearby heard the shots, and broadcast a reasonably detailed bulletin about the suspects on police radio right away. That allowed LAPD 77th Street Division Officers Jeff Wolman, Steve Sainz, Dave Ross and Michael Hernandez to spot the fleeing Hummer and pull it over. They arrested two black men and a black young woman under 18. Guns were also seized. The suspects are in custody. Extra patrols had been assigned to Crenshaw that night because of the cruising problem.
Jones was a working man with no criminal history, detectives said.
Mario Sepulveda, 29, a Latino man, was shot multiple times in an alley off Grand Street near Oliver in San Pedro at about 4:20 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 17. He was taken to UCLA-Harbor hospital, where he died. LAPD Harbor Division detectives are investigating. He was a longshoreman and family man.
Anyone with tips, including anonymous ones, is asked to give LAPD Harbor detectives a call, or send an email, or anonymous email. (310) 522-2036 or 21881@lapd.lacity.org.
Jose Luis Estrada, 40, a Latino man, was killed at 4202 Downing Ave. in Baldwin Park on Wednesday, Nov. 14, when he ran after the suspects who had just killed his 14-year-old son Pedro.
Police said two Latino men or youths came up to Pedro at about 8:30 p.m. at the family home in the 4100 block and shot him, then ran. Jose Luis Estrada ran outside when he heard the shots. He found Pedro dying on the ground, saw the fleeing suspects and ran after them for about a block. They turned and attacked him as well, shooting the grief-stricken father, and then making their escape. Father and son died within an hour of each other.
Pedro Estrada, a 14-year-old Latino youth, was shot and killed minutes before his father Jose Luis Estrada, above, was also killed at 4134 Downing Ave. in Baldwin Park at about 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Pedro died at 8:48 p.m.
Frankie Buelna, 61, a Latino man, died in the same double homicide as Enrique Sanchez, 26, below.
Both were caught in a shooting in the Characters Sports Bar at 276 E. First St. in Pomona on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 9:27 p.m. Officers responding to a call of a shooting there found three men down inside the bar. Sanchez died at the scene and Buelna was airlifted to County-USC hospital, where he died from his wounds during or after surgery, at about 1:10 a.m. Nov. 14. A third victim is expected to survive. Daily Bulletin reports
Enrique Sanchez, 26, a Latino man, was killed in the same double homicide that took the life of Frankie Buelna, 61, above. He was hit at least four times and died at 9:30 p.m.
Adrian Cabral, a 17-year-old Latino youth, was shot in the chest and flank at 633 Lancaster Blvd. at about noon on Tuesday, Nov. 13. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. More to come.
 Venus Hardin, a 25-year-old black man, was shot twice through the torso and killed at 826 W. 42nd Place in South Los Angeles at 11:55 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 12. A friend with him, also a 25-year-old black man, was also shot and lost the use of his legs.
The two friends were standing on the sidewalk talking when a light-colored SUV pulled up with four to five black men or youths inside. The attackers called out some kind of gang challenge, and shot at the pair multiple times, said LAPD Det. Rick Gordon. Hardin died on the sidewalk; his friend was taken to a hospital in critical condition and underwent surgery. His injuries have left him a paraplegic; he is not expected to walk again, Gordon said.
Both Hardin and his friend have worked as security guards, and have no gang history, Gordon said. Hardin was the father of a 16-month old boy. They were most likely targeted simply because they were young and black and happened to be standing outside when their attackers cruised by looking to strike in that neighborhood. LAPD Southwest detectives are asking for the public's help. They are at (213) 485-1383.
(This is the final post in the weekly list of Los Angeles County homicide victims, Nov. 13-19)
Left, iconography of the civil-rights movement applied to the problem of homicide in minority communities:
The lyrics of "We Shall Overcome" (in Spanish, "Nosotros Venceremos") were left on the ground next to candles, notes of mourning, and a bottle of beer at the spot where Walter Vega, 30, was murdered last week in LAPD's Rampart Division.
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 (The following 18 names comprise the victims of homicide in Los Angeles County for the one-week period of Nov. 5-12, 2007, listed chronologically by date of death. Killings reported earlier in the week are updated here, along with additional information.
Right, candles burn on a sidewalk Friday night in honor of Walter Vega, 30, murdered last week on Berendo in Koreatown.)
 Lavon Ellison, 27, a black man, died after a shooting at 216 84th Place at Broadway between 9 and 11 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12, said LAPD 77th Street Det. Carlos Velasquez. Two black men or youths confronted and chased him, shooting. He was struck and made it a block before collapsing. Ellison died later at California Hospital.
Scott Howard, a 53-year-old black man, was pronounced dead from homicide at 11:47 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12 at 1360 E. Pasadena St. in Pomona.
Pomona police said that their dispatchers got a 911 call from a Chevron gas sation at about 11:26 p.m. Nov. 12 from a woman who said that Howard had been shot inside a nearby apartment. Two people had forced their way in and directed the woman and Howard to a back room, where they shot Howard, she reported. Officers found him dead there. Anyone with information is asked to call (909) 620-2085 or WeTip at (800) 78-CRIME.
Walter Vega, 30, a Latino man, was shot several times at 749 S. Berendo St. in Wilshire Center just west of Vermont Avenue at about 4:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12, and died at 4:57 p.m. at County-USC Hospital. Vega was only a week or so out of prison. He was standing on the sidewalk in an area where people congregate to drink nearly every day. His attackers were two Latino men or youths, one in a dark shirt, the other in a light one. They walked up, shot him, ran to a waiting blue Toyota van, and sped away. Above, goodbye messages at his street shrine.
Continue reading "Walter Vega, 30" »
Lawrence Rhodes, a 14-year-old black youngster, was stabbed to death near the intersection of Orange and Pico Boulevard in L.A.'s Mid-City area just after midnight on Sunday, Nov. 11, and died shortly after, at about 1:30 a.m. Two other young men, one a juvenile, were also stabbed. The elder was treated at a hospital for his injuries, then released; the younger underwent surgery. Both the wounded victims are expected to survive.
Rhodes had just arrived at what Wilshire homicide supervisor Chris Holroyd described as a "hip-hop party" in a commercial building on Pico. People came up to him on the sidewalk, and a fistfight broke out. It was a large brawl, involving at least 10 people, she said. Someone had a knife and stabbed Rhodes and the two other victims in the chaotic scene. Arriving police officers tried to give aid to Lawrence while waiting for paramedics. The crowd around them melted away, leaving no one to tell police what had happened, or to bear witness to who had killed Lawrence.
Holroyd put out a plea to anyone who attended this event. Please call police and help them solve the case, she said. Wilshire detectives are at (213) 473-0446.
A reward for information in the case is pending.
 Jason Hernandez, 23, a Latino man, was shot at about 2 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 10, at 4500 Griffin, and died about eight hours later at County-USC Medical Center. He was driving his '99 Audi when shots rang out. He was struck in the torso, lost control of the car, and collided with two parked cars, said Hollenbeck Det. D.W. Fields. People nearby heard gunfire and the sound of a car speeding away, and called police. Hernandez leaves a common-law wife and a child. Hollenbeck detectives are at (323) 526-3009.
Manual Moreno, 26, a Latino man, was shot through the head at 370 E. Navilla Place in Covina. His time of death was listed as 11:45 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10.
According to Sgt. Trevor Gaumer of the Covina Police Department, a neighbor found Moreno kneeling and slumped over at the front corner of his apartment building. The neighbor called police, who discovered that Moreno had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Noise, and a loud pop, had been heard in the area about an hour before. Moreno was a graphic designer, and single. Police are asking for information from anyone who knew him, or heard or saw anything. Call (626) 858-4475.
Jose Jimenez, 30, a Latino man, was shot multiple times near the intersection of 59th and Hooper Avenue in Florence, and died at 10:37 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. This is a Sheriff's case. More to come.
Heilala Aholelei, a 16-year-old youth of Tongan descent, was shot at 5575 Atlantic Ave. at about 9:30 p.m. and died at 9:59 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9.
He was loading food into a car with his family after celebrating a birthday party nearby. His attacker came up from behind, shot him, and ran. Long Beach homicide detectives seek the public's help. Call (562) 570-7244.
 Rudolph Smith, 40, a black man, was shot in a garage in the 1700 block of Tichenor St. in Compton around 8:23 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9. Police found him there, badly wounded in the torso. He was taken to Harbor hospital, where he died at 9:18 p.m.
Osorio Reyes, 26, a Latino man, was shot in the chest and arm in front of 16303 Maplegrove St. in Valinda at about 4:05 a.m. Thursday, Nov 8. He was pronounced dead at the scene. More to come.
Karl Scott, 32, a black man, was stabbed in the torso in front of 1846 E. Avenue J-4 in Lancaster. He was taken to a hospital where he died at 6:07 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7. More to come.
 Gemora Jawana Knoxs, 33, a black man, was shot multiple times in the 1000 block of West 130th Street in Gardena at about 3:18 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7, and died within minutes.
Gardena police got calls from people who heard the shots. Officers found him lying in the middle of the street. He died at the scene. More to come.
Christine Rodriguez, 35, a Latina woman, was shot in the head at 860 Walnut Ave. in Monrovia and died at 12:21 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6.
According to the Pasadena Star News, this case was a murder-suicide. Rodriguez's boyfriend, Michael Wright, 30, killed himself shortly after killing her.
Pasadena Star News reports
Elmore Kittower, 80, a white man, was listed as a homicide victim in coroner's records -- time of death, 12:10 a.m., Monday, Nov. 5. No other information was immediately available.
  Rene Vargas, a 14-year-old Latino youngster, was killed in LAPD's Rampart Division at about 8:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 5 in the 1300 block of West 7th Street in L.A.'s Westlake area.
He was walking on the sidewalk. A black SUV pulled up, coming the other way, and a Latino man or youth got out and shot in the direction of Rene, said LAPD Det. Fred Faustino. Rene walked a few steps and then collapsed. He died at a County-USC hospital shortly after, at 8:43 p.m. He was not a documented gang member. He was attending Belmont High School. Rampart detectives are at (213) 207-2060.
Below, his teenage friends display a collection box near his shrine--candles, pictures of the Virgen, and a Mickey beer.
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Abraham Polisadzhyan, 19, a young man of Armenian descent, was stabbed once in the chest at 13626 Vanowen Street near Woodman in Van Nuys, Monday, Nov. 5 at about 7:40 p.m.
Police said he was among a group of nine young men arguing on the street corner. Words gave way to fists, and moments later, a black Lexus pulled up. Two men got out, attacked one of the group, then stabbed Polisadzhyan and escaped. Polisadzhyan died at a hospital shortly after, at 8:26 p.m. LAPD Van Nuys detectives are at (818) 374-0040.
 Shontae Blanche, 22, a black woman, died of blunt-force trauma after assailants in a car deliberately rammed her near the intersection of Slauson and Western in South Los Angeles on Monday, Nov. 5. He time of death was listed as 2:47 p.m. She was pregnant. L.A. Times story
(This is the end of the comprehensive weekly list of homicides in Los Angeles County for the week of Nov. 5-12, 2007.)
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The Homicide Report is devoting the month of November to updating the status of cases reported on this site.
HR has reviewed about 300 homicide cases throughout Los Angeles County in an attempt to find out which homicide cases in the county in 2007 have been solved.
The result so far? Of the sample of 300 homicide cases classified as criminal, slightly more than one-third have been cleared by an arrest.
 Agencies surveyed include portions of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the LAPD and smaller agencies.
Clearance rates vary from agency to agency, but, with the exception of a single unit, not one of the homicide units surveyed so far has achieved a clearance rate of more than 50%.
(The Homicide Report's survey includes only 2007 cases iin which charges have been filed; justifiable homicides and other non-relevant categories are excluded).
Most of the arrests have been noted in posts on the site. The absence of an arrest posting does not necessarily mean a case remains unsolved, since a number of units have yet to be surveyed.
Also, homicide cases frequently take months or years to solve. Many units reported solving old cases in recent months, in addition to newer ones. Still-unsolved cases may yet be closed by year's end. More to come.
(Above, homicides cases in brown folders tend to stack up on desks and bookshelves at the L.A. County sheriff's homicide bureau. Each brown folder represents a life lost to homicide.)
 November is clearance month on the Homicide Report. Readers will find fewer posts than usual as HR works to determine how many of the 2007 Los Angeles County homicide cases have been solved and which have not.
A case is considered "cleared" if a suspect has been arrested and charged, or if charges have been filed and an arrest warrant approved.
Clearance updates will be added to homicide posts on the site as the information comes in. Check the archives for arrest information on previous homicides. There are too many cases to update all of them, but HR will attempt to revisit as many as possible. (Photo by Geraldine Wilkins/LAT 2004)
 
(Norma Lorena Rodriguez's two children, Daniel (top) and Mireya Valenzuela, reacted similarly to a Channel 62 news reporter who questioned them about their mother's murder at a news conference Wednesday in Inglewood. Both took long breaths before speaking, stood rigid, and answered mechanically, in quiet voices. Mireya Valenzuela nearly lost her composure for one brief second. Asked about her childhood with her mother, she teared up, pressed her lips together, squeezed her eyes with her hand, stared into the distance for a moment, and then set her jaw and finished the interview as if nothing had happened.)
Inglewood Police on Wednesday appealed for the public's help in locating the third suspect in a robbery-double homicide case that took the life of real-estate agent Norma Lorena Rodriguez, 48, and insurance salesman Joel Perez. The killings took place Sept. 26 in the office the pair shared at 415 W. Manchester Boulevard.
 Two Latino suspects, a 16-year-old and a 26-year-old, have been arrested, and face murder robbery and kidnapping charges in the case. A third suspect, 24-year-old Julius Laulu, right, remains at large, and may be in the Salt Lake City area. He is considered armed and dangerous. Inglewood police are at (310) 412-5246.
Update: Suspect Julius Laulu was captured in Provo, Utah on Nov. 19. Authorities said a relative saw mention of him on the latimes.com website, and called police to say his nephew was in the house. The police came, and called the relative, who sent Laulu out to turn himself in. He is being held without bail, and faces extradition.
 This is the weekly comprehensive list of homicide victims in Los Angeles County compiled from police and coroner's reports. Homicides reported earlier are updated here and presented in chronological order. The county is in an extraordinarily quiet spell for homicides right now--less than two per day.
(Left, a detail from the shrine of 20-year-old Brian Ramos, killed this week as he was moving cars at night, trying to avoid parking tickets.)
 Bernardo Mendoza, 44, a Latino man, was shot in a bar at 129 Workman Road in the Bassett neighborhood of La Puente at about 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, and died at the scene. A woman and two other men were seriously wounded in this shooting but are expected to survive.
Mendoza was a hard-working family man who was a random murder victim, said Sheriff's Lt. Dan Rosenberg. He was one of the patrons that night at a small, local haunt called "My Place," a bar that has long catered to a Latino clientele in that area.
Earlier that night, a quarrel had erupted between the woman who managed the bar and a Latino man over payment for a mariachi band. The suspect left, came back with a gun, and shot the manager and wounded her. He then fired the gun indiscriminately into the crowd, striking Mendoza and two other men.
Mendoza died in minutes. He leaves a wife and two sons.
The suspect is still at large. He is a heavyset man in his 40s, possibly six feet tall and 225 pounds. Detectives are at (213) 890-5500.
The scenario for this homicide is familiar to readers of the Homicide Report. Rosenberg reiterated a warning: Parties, bars and gatherings are high-risk situations for homicide. If someone has an argument in a bar or at a party, leave immediately, he said.
"We see this so often," he said. "If you are at a bar or a party and there is some kind of incident, you need to leave. People come back, and they come back armed."
Tell your sons and nephews, he added.
See also: HR on party homicides
Ulysses Gonzalez, 35, a Latino man, died after being stuck by multiple bullets to the neck, torso and back in front of 349 Orchid Lane in Pomona. His time of death was listed as 1:08 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 3. More information to come.
Rogelio Perez, 63, a Latino man, was found dead, stabbed multiple times, in his apartment at 1250 S. Western Ave. in mid-Los Angeles at about 9:26 a.m. Friday, Nov. 2. The apartment manager discovered him dead and called police. He had not been dead long. Perez had lived alone in the apartment for 14 years, and was a healthcare worker or possibly a licensed nursing assistant. There was no evidence of forced entry. LAPD Wilshire detectives seek leads. (213) 473-0446.
Francisco Onate, 42, a Latino man, was shot multiple times in the torso and arm in the 700 block of North Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena about 10 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1. Police officers responding to the scene found the man lying on a sidewalk, Pasadena police Lt. John Dewar said. Onate was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead. Pasadena detectives say they are unsure of a motive for the homicide. Anyone having any information regarding this crime is urged to contact the Pasadena Police Department detective section at (626) 744-4522.
--Richard Winton/LAT
 Brian Ramos, 20, a Latino young man, was shot multiple times at 926 S. Mariposa St. in Koreatown at about 11:35 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30. He died at a hospital at 12:15 a.m.
Police said he was parking his car when a Latino man in his early 20s, described as 5-foot-7, 170 pounds, with very short black hair, came up and said, "Where are you from?" He then started shooting before Ramos could reply. Ramos was not documented as a gang member, police said. A reward for information in the case is pending. LAPD Wilshire Dets. John Shafia and Mark Holguin are at (213) 473-0446. See dispatch: "Buen hijo"
Update: This case has been solved. A Latino man was arrested and charged with Ramos's murder. Credit for the clearance goes to LAPD Wilshire Det. Mark Holguin.
 Anthony Bryant, 33, a black man, was struck by gunfire at 3930 El Segundo Blvd. in Hawthorne at about 12:34 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, and died within 10 minutes. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was shot during an argument with another man in the parking lot of a Burger King , said Sheriff's Det. Dameron Peyton. He ran, wounded, and made it about 100 yards before he collapsed, dying where he fell. He was a married man, said Peyton.
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 Lloyd Stallings III, 22, a black young man, was shot in the torso at 1317 W. 97th St. in Athens, and died at 8:16 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29.
He was from a little town in Mississippi. He had been visiting in Los Angeles for only two months, with dreams of being a rap music star. He was shot in front of the apartment building where he had been staying with his uncle, then stumbled back upstairs, trying to get home. He died in the doorway of the apartment, a bare room, except for a couple of couches. It was also home to at least two friends--they called themselves cousins. "Everybody loved him. He wasn't into no gang," said one.
HR is seeking more information.
This is the end of the comprehensive weekly homicide list.
A Latino man or youth was shot and killed in the 5200 block of Sanborn Avenue in Lynwood at about 3:13 a.m. this morning, Nov. 5. Sheriff's detectives are investigating. More to come.
  Los Angeles police released a sketch of the suspect in the murder of acupuncturist Jae Oh, 38. Oh was fatally struck on the head at 7851 Hillrose St. in Sunland on his way to work on July 27. Two black men were seen running from the scene.
The sketch of one is at right. LAPD Foothill Dets. Heather Gahry and Mario Santana are at (818) 834-3115.
 Brian Ramos lived in a Koreatown apartment so tiny that a single room, with a few chairs and double beds crammed end-to-side, served as living room and bedroom for him, his father, disabled mother and elderly grandmother.
Like so many L.A. neighborhoods, there's not nearly enough parking, and city transportation department officers ticket with a ferocious vigilance.
That's why Brian was outside Tuesday night. He was moving the family's cars around, trying to get them situated so they wouldn't get ticketed, said Det. John Shafia of LAPD Wilshire Division. A man or youth walked up to him, said "Where are you from?" and started shooting before Brian could answer. He fell immediately. He died at County-USC.
The parents spoke about 30 hours after Brian was shot and killed in front of the apartment building. Neither had slept or eaten. Brian's mother broke down in sobs every 30 seconds or so. They weren't sure they would be able to handle an interview, but tried anyway.
Brian was their only son. They are proud of how clean-cut he was. They keep returning to the subject. Ana Perez grew animated when she described how, after his death, police searched for some sign that Brian had gang or drug ties. They searched the house, talked to his friends, canvassed the neighborhood. They couldn't find a thing.
He didn't have a tattoo, not even an earring. He had never been arrested, never joined a gang, never had problems in school, his parents said, and police agreed. He was working full-time as a delivery driver for Coca Cola, contributing to the upkeep of his small family. He was considering studying to be a medical assistant. Or maybe a mechanic. He liked mechanical things, his father said. "Buen hijo," says his mother, over and over. Good son.
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Shafia said Brian--a 21-year-old Latino male killed by a gang member--might not stand out as a victim. Not a soldier, honor student or university grad. Yet he was exceptional, Shafia said.
 The apartment was so small and crowded he would have had to be outside a lot. He probably had to mingle with gang members every day of his life. Yet somehow he managed never to be involved. "You grow up in that neighborhood and you find your way not to be a gang member?" Shafia said, shaking his head in amazement. "I guess it must be the parents."
Detectives seek information, anonymous tips, rumors, anything. A reward is pending. Shafia and his partner are at (213) 473-0446.
Piden informacion sobre este homicidio. Llame (213) 473-04 | |
The following 14 posts represent the 14 people who died from homicide in Los Angeles County for the most recent period covered by the coroner, Nov. 19-25, 2007. Homicides listed earlier in the week are updated here with additional information, and presented chronologically, in order of the victim's death. These lists are published every week; to go back further, and view all previous lists from 2007, scroll down or see the archive at right. The Homicide Report has covered about 90% of L.A. County homicides this year. Several dozen cases have yet to be added to the list. At left, candles for one of the two 15-year-old boys who were murdered in L.A. County during this period--Joshua Bedolla, who was gunned down in Florence.
