Notes on 2007, continued

The Homicide Report will change, but will continue in some form in 2008. The Times aims to maintain the tone, conventions and style of this report, although the reporting job will change hands after January and entries may be scaled back somewhat. Names archived here will remain on the Web for the present.

The Times thanks all who have taken part in this effort to report all homicides in Los Angeles County. The Homicide Report is a kind of civic project which owes its success, in part, to the many public servants who have chosen to take an interest in its mission and who have participated in its production. These include both high- and low-level people in law enforcement and various emergency services agencies.

Among them are scores of clerks, police officers, sheriff's deputies, detectives, coroner's investigators, firefighters, technicians and public-information specialists who extended themselves in ways that went well beyond what was required of them--for no apparent reason except their conviction that these homicides deserved attention.

They offered information when it wasn't asked of them, brokered meetings with families, sought out photos unavailable to The Times, pointed out omissions, provided tips, supplied follow-up information without prompting, and generally took pains, again and again, to ensure that all homicides received equal treatment on this page.

Thanks in particular to those who worked with HR inside the LAPD, the Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide bureau, and the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Most of all, HR is grateful to the staff of the Los Angeles County coroner's office for their consistent efforts on behalf of this project throughout the year.

Homicide Perspectives: Sal LaBarbera, homicide detective

Los Angeles Police Det. Sal LaBarbera is a 20-year homicide veteran who heads the Watts homicide squad in LAPD's South Bureau. Photo by Carlos Chavez/LAT

HR: Family members of victims in your area sometimes say their cases are shelved with little investigation, and receive less attention than high-profile cases. How do you respond to that?

LaBarbera: It's not true. This is a small group of detectives--10 people--and we investigate, on average over the last 20 years, 85-plus cases a year here, and with a decent clearance rate. These detectives--they do it for themselves. When it comes down to it, they are the ones who actually care about these cases, regardless of who the victims are. These detectives work 16- to 18-hour days, and review tapes at home. They give up weekends to be on call, and are on-call without compensation during the week. It's a lot to ask, and it's offensive for someone to suggest they don't care. They need to sit down with these detectives and see what they do. They are devoted, really devoted.

And you know, often the victims here are not angels. Some have criminal histories. They're in and out of the [prison] system. They're gang members. But we investigate those cases as we do any other. The way we look at it is this: We investigate each as if it were our own family member murdered.

HR: Does the city place an adequate priority on homicide?

LaBarbera: It's a big city. Each neighborhood has its own concerns, and it's a balancing act.

HR: Would you balance things differently?

LaBarbera: I think homicide throughout the city should be the priority. It's someone's life, and you can't replace it. You can replace a stolen car stereo.... This year the chief [LAPD Chief William Bratton] has combined all the South Los Angeles homicide detectives into one unit, and that should help, but there are still not enough homicide detectives. This group is still handling 10 to 15 cases per team, and that goes back years. I see my detectives leaving here with stacks of blue binders in their arms. Each of those binders is life lost. They are forced to prioritize--to go after the hot leads, and take a step back from the lukewarm leads.

HR: What's your biggest frustration?

LaBarbera: Lack of proper equipment and manpower. Equipment-wise, we are in the early 1990s. We have no laptops. The detectives use the cameras and tape recorders and cellphones they purchase themselves. The department doesn't furnish those. We use our cellphones as our business phones: The phone on my desk doesn't work. It's is a prop.

HR: Is your job like the television program "Law & Order"?

LaBarbera: I've never watched "Law & Order." I watch Fox News.

HR: In the show, detectives go from witness to witness, and learn all about the case.

LaBarbera: It's not like that here. Here, in most cases, we identify a suspect right away--usually within hours. And then, the next days and weeks we spend trying to coax witnesses to come forward. It's very rare for anything to happen to a witness, but they are still afraid. The police aren't driving down their street 24 hours a day. But the gang members are standing out there 24 hours a day. The police and the community here have to come together and force those gang members off the streets and into jail. We need the community's cooperation to do that.

HR: How long have you been saying that?

LaBarbera: 20 years.

HR: Has it gotten any better?

LaBarbera: No. It's worse.

HR: How bad is the witness cooperation problem?

LaBarbera: It's the main issue in most cases. The majority of cases are solved with witness testimony combined with circumstantial and physical evidence, but the witness testimony is the hardest part. If you look at this year's cases, except the domestic homicides, witness cooperation is an issue on all of them. Witnesses don't believe the police can protect them.

HR: How do you protect them?

LaBarbera: By relocating them. And by arresting the bad guys.

HR: What's the oldest case your squad solved this year?

LaBarbera: We solved a 1996 case this year. Two years ago we solved a 1978 case.

Years ago, [Det. John] Zambos and I had a goal to investigate a case older than we were. We solved a case from the 1950s. The suspect had been dead for four years. We found his grave.

HR: Some readers objected to the support you voiced for the family of Timothy Johnson (a November homicide victim and also the named suspect on another homicide case). Is it true you are friends with the Johnson family?

LaBarbera: I didn't say I was friends with them. I said I knew them. And I do. I have known the Johnson family through good times and bad. I was part of a team of investigators that put his brother on death row. I have been there to investigate, and I have been there to grieve. It is part of what it means to work in this neighborhood. You meet the same people over and over--as victims, witnesses, and suspects--and sometimes all three at the same time.

This is a prime example of what I was talking about before. This is a family that has been on both ends of the spectrum: as victims, and as also subjects of investigation. We treat them all the same. People can say Timothy Johnson's murder was long overdue, and if we thought that, it would be easy for us to put the book on the shelf. But we don't. My detectives have been working many hours on that case.

HR: How's it going?

LaBarbera: We need witnesses to come forward.

(Above right, the whiteboard at LAPD's South Bureau homicide office, scrawled with LaBarbera's admonition to detectives.)

See also Perspectives: Kenny Mitchell, and Perspectives: Derrick Bell

Notes on 2007: Missing Cases

The Homicide Report endeavored to cover every homicide in Los Angeles County in 2007. It has failed to do so.

The HR tally displayed here is inaccurate by a margin of at least 10%. Possibly 100 homicides or more are missing from the lists that have been posted here throughout the year. Anyone tempted to use this list or the accompanying map for statistical purposes, please be aware this is not a comprehensive catalog of 2007 homicides.

2007 infant and child deaths

The child homicides in the following four posts were omitted from the Homicide Report earlier in the year because, as is often the case with infant deaths, they were not immediately finalized as homicides. HR is slowly adding to its archives cases missed during the year.

These entries for children killed this year, and previously omitted from HR, were reported and written by Times reporter Jack Leonard. HR is extremely grateful for Leonard's assistance.

Angel Montiel, 2

Angel Montiel, a 2-year-old Latino boy, died from "aspiration pneumonia" -- where foreign material enters the lungs -- in San Pedro on April 21. But coroner's officials found fresh and old wounds during the boy's autopsy and determined that physical abuse and neglect contributed to Angel's death.

A relative brought Angel to Little Company of Mary-San Pedro Hospital about 2:30 a.m. The little boy was not breathing and was pronounced dead 10 minutes later. Los Angeles County Coroner's Capt. Ed Winter said the boy had fresh and old bruises all over his body, including dark bruises on the right-side and center of his forehead. The child also had severe redness on the bottom of his feet and he appeared thin.

His family told authorities the injuries were inflicted when they tried to revive him, Winter said. But police said they suspect Angel was the victim of ongoing abuse. Los Angeles police Det. Cathy Luke said investigators immediately noticed the boy's injuries but did not have enough evidence at first to make an arrest.

"We had to wait for the medical evidence," Luke said. On Nov. 1, LAPD officers arrested Angel's mother, Andrea Montiel, 25, on suspicion of murder and child abuse. Montiel has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, assault on a child causing death, and child abuse. She remains in Los Angeles County jail awaiting trial.--Jack Leonard/LAT

Anthony Valencia, 2

Anthony Valencia, a 2-year-old Latino boy, was allegedly beaten to death in Long Beach on April 16. A coroner's spokesman said Anthony was in the care of his mother's boyfriend, Genaro Salas Blanco Jr., when he died. A sibling of the toddler told authorities that Blanco struck Anthony's head against a refrigerator and beat him because the child wet his pants, said Capt. Ed Winter of the L.A. County coroner's office.

Paramedics were called around 7:55 a.m. and discovered Anthony lying on the living room floor of the family's apartment in the 1400 block of Magnolia Avenue. The boy was conscious and breathing but unresponsive, according to a police statement. He had suffered multiple bruises on his neck, chest and upper arms and died from multiple traumatic injuries. Paramedics took Anthony to St. Mary's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Blanco, 25, was arrested and charged with murder, torture and assault on a child causing death. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in Los Angeles County jail awaiting trial.--Jack Leonard/LAT

Jane Doe, newborn

Jane Doe, a newborn Latina infant -- known to the Los Angeles County coroner's office as Jane Doe #14 -- was found dead on March 13 in an apartment in the Wilshire Center neighborhood just west of Vermont Avenue. The infant was discovered in the bathroom of the apartment where the child's mother and family lived in the 3000 block of 8th Street. Paramedics determined the newborn was non-responsive and she was declared at the scene. Less than a day old, the baby girl's death was the result of probable asphyxiation after birth, according to coroner's spokesman Capt. Ed Winter.

Winter said the child's mother, Virginia Leal, 25, denied the baby was hers. Los Angeles police Det. Supervisor Monica Quijano said investigators determined the child was Leal's but declined to say how. Police arrested Leal on suspicion of murder the same day the baby was discovered. Prosecutors have charged Leal with murder and abuse likely to cause death to a child. She has pleaded not guilty.--Jack Leonard/LAT

Drake Weston, 4

Drake Weston, a 4-year-old white boy, died of pneumonia on Feb. 27 at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. Coroner's officials determined that Drake's death was also caused, in part, by a March 2005 beating that left him in a vegetative state.

Drake's mother had left him in the care of her boyfriend, Robert William Ross, at their Lakewood home while she went to work. Ross, 27, was accused of beating the child about the head, causing severe brain injuries that left him with the abilities of a 4-month-old infant, a coroner's spokesman said.

Last year, Ross pleaded no contest to a charge of assault likely to cause great bodily injury or death to a child. He was given a 9-year prison sentence that was suspended and was placed on five years probation. In July, Ross admitted violating his probation and was sentenced in September to the full nine years in prison. Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide Det. Philip Guzman said investigators are trying to determine whether there is enough evidence to prosecute Ross for Drake's death.--Jack Leonard/LAT

Victims, Dec. 24-30, 2007

The following posts represent the victims of homicide in Los Angeles County for the week of Dec. 24-30, 2007.

Sean Parmley, 38

Sean Parmley, a 38-year-old white man, was stabbed in the 2900 block of Sepulveda Boulevard in West Los Angeles on Sunday, Dec. 30, at about 8:40 p.m., and was taken to the UCLA hospital, where he died a short time later, at about 9:30 p.m. Two men came to the door of his apartment. There was an argument, then a fistfight. One of the suspects pulled out a knife and stabbed Parmley, then both fled on foot. Parmley was single and had moved south from Santa Rosa in recent months, police said.

Lewis Mingo, 65

Lewis Mingo, a 65-year-old black man, was found shot dead in the underground parking structure of an apartment building at 4203 W. Rosecrans Blvd. in Lawndale at about 1:45 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 29.

Deputies responded to a shots-fired call, and found him dead. Investigators believe several people were in the garage shortly beforehand, playing a game of dominoes, but it is unclear what led to the shooting, said sheriff's homicide Lt. Gil Carrillo. Mingo lived in the apartment complex, and worked as an apartment manager, he said.

Jacklyn Villanueva, 22

Jacklyn Villanueva, 22, a Latina woman, died after she was stabbed in the street at 4744 Myrtle Street in Pico Rivera at about 1:45 a.m. Dec. 28, and a female friend was badly wounded in the same incident.

The stabbing was a domestic crime of sorts, said Sheriff's Det. Mike Rodriguez. Villanueva's friend had been dating a young man, and the two women had gone to this young man's house that night. Some kind of conflict erupted involving the dating couple, and the young man grew enraged and attacked both women with a knife in the street outside the home. Villanueva died at the scene. Her friend was hospitalized in critical condition but is now considered stable. After the stabbing, the suspect got in a car and drove to Rio Hondo Park. He was arrested. Police identified him as Brian Galvan, 20, a Latino young man. Los Angeles Times

Timothy Crawford, 32

Timothy Crawford, 32, a black man, was shot at the intersection of McKinley Avenue and Alondra Boulevard in Compton at about 6:03 p.m. Dec. 28. Crawford and a friend were driving away from a liquor store, said Lt. Gil Carrillo of Sheriff's Homicide Bureau. Crawford was in the passenger seat. They stopped at a stop sign, about to turn. A black man or youth standing on the curb, and "for unknown reasons" fired a gun into the car. Crawford was wounded; the driver was not injured and drove him to his house, which was only a block away, and paramedics came there, and took him to a hospital, where he died shortly after, at 8:08 p.m.

Jeremy Solomon, 20

Jeremy Solomon, 20, a young black man, was shot and killed while sitting in a car at Jesse Owens Community Regional Park at 96th and Western in South Los Angeles at about 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26. A second young man was wounded in this shooting.

Solomon and his friend were both college students studying art. They were sitting and chatting. Solomon was in the passenger seat. A young heavy-set black man walked up to the car, and, "for no reason at all," shot into it, striking them both, said Det. Carlos Velasquez of LAPD's South Bureau. Solomon was transported to California Hospital where he died; his friend was shot in the leg and remains hospitalized in stable condition. A $75,000 reward has been offered for information in this case. Anyone with any information is asked to call Det. Rocky Sato of the LAPD at (213) 485-1383.

Shelton Sumerall, 32

Shelton Sumerall, a 32-year-old black man, and Monica Youngblood, 23, a black woman, were shot and killed in an apartment building in the 6700 block of 11th Avenue near Crenshaw Boulevard in South L.A. at about 1:30 a.m. Dec. 24, said Carlos Velasquez, LAPD 77th Street Division homicide supervisor. More to come.

Monica Youngblood, 23

Monica Youngblood, a 23-year-old black woman, is the second victim of the double homicide in South L.A. described above.

Diego Cruz, 15

Hollywood: Diego Cruz, 15, a Latino youth, was shot and killed in the 5600 block of Santa Monica Boulevard at about 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 24.

The driver of a passing car heard shots, saw him collapse, and called 911. Passersby said they heard four or five shots.

Cruz was on the sidewalk, not breathing, when police arrived, and he was taken to Cedars-Sinai. Cruz was a student at Hollywood High. His family are Oaxaquenos from the Mexican state of Oaxaca and speak a mix of Spanish and Zapoteco.

Martimiano Cruz Lopez, Diego's father, is a cook at Swingers restaurant on Beverly Boulevard. He was at the East Hollywood apartment he shared with his son Wednesday trying to make arrangements to have his son's body sent from the morgue at the hospital back to Mexico, with the help of the Mexican Consulate. Looking exhausted and tense, he seemed reluctant to sit, and when he did, perched rigidly at the edge of his chair, eyes wide, hands folded. He said he came to Los Angeles from the town of San Diorisio Ocotepec, Oaxaca about three years ago to work, then brought Diego, the second of five children, up here to join him last year. "I wanted him to improve himself and learn English," said Cruz Lopez. "We never intended to stay."

Diego, his father said, loved Los Angeles, and especially loved attending school at Hollywood High. He was outgoing, clownish at times, and liked to draw. Relatives were preparing for Christmas, cooking, and dropping off gifts with friends on Christmas Eve. Diego asked his father for permission to make a quick trip to Sears on Santa Monica Boulevard to buy a present for a girl he liked. He never made it into the store. Cruz Lopez was home when he got the call his son had been shot. At the scene, police told him the news as he stood on the street. He went to the hospital to view his son's body, and called home to tell Diego's mother the news. She had been crying ever since, he said. He had barely slept. They couldn't believe this was happening, another family member said. It didn't seem real.

(You have reached the end of the weekly listing of homicide victims in Los Angeles County, Dec. 24-30, 2007.)

Victims, Dec. 17-22, 2007

The following 16 posts represent the victims of homicide in Los Angeles County for the week of Dec. 17-22, 2007.

Joe Alvarado, 22

Joe Alvarado, 22, a Latino man, was shot multiple times while sitting in his car on Saturday, Dec. 22, at about 5 p.m. in the 800 block of Mines Avenue in Montebello. His friends took Alvarado to Beverly Hospital minutes after the shooting. He was transferred to County-USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m.

Neighbors who knew Alvarado said he was happy, and funny.  "He had a heart that was just too big to crush," said Vanessa Dominguez, 16, hands over her heart. She called him by the nickname "JoJo." Neighbors said Alvarado worked as a repossession tow truck driver for his uncle. His plans were to save money, move in with his girlfriend and start a family, Vanessa said.

On the day of the shooting, Dominguez was upstairs. "I had my hands near my head when I suddenly felt warm," she said. "My hands started to shake and I had a feeling like something bad was about to happen. That's when I heard someone scream, 'They shot Joe!' "

--Ruben Vives/LAT

Aviantay Williams, 16

Aviantay Williams, 16, a black youth, was shot at 1116 N. Santa Fe Avenue in Compton and died at 6:15 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22.

The killing was a drive-by shooting, one of several recently. Williams was standing in front of a house, and was shot in the abdomen. He was taken to St. Francis hospital, where he died.

Clifford Ingram, 44

Clifford Ingram, 44, a black man, was shot in his gold Oldsmobile at 924 W. 130th St. in Compton at 12:40 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22, and died about an hour later at St. Francis Hospital.

He was driving down the street and stopped his car for some reason. His attackers shot him through the window. He tried to drive away, made it a very short distance, then careened into a fence. Paramedics took him to the hospital. Ingram was a divorced father with a girlfriend or fiancee, on parole for a nonviolent offense. Sheriff's detectives need someone to come forward and tell them what happened so they can arrest and charge whoever killed Ingram. Sgt. Rick Biddle can be reached at (323) 890-5500.

Angel Cazares, 25

Angel Cazares, a 25-year-old Latino man, was shot multiple times in the chest and stomach at 12:40 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 22, at the intersection of West Avenue 26 and Barranca Street in Lincoln Heights. He was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

-- Ruben Vives/LAT

Paul Brisuela, 20

Paul Brisuela, 20, a Latino man, was stabbed at 330 W. Rowland in Covina and died at 1:26 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 22. San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports

Alfredo Delgadillo, 29

Alfredo Delgadillo, 29, a Latino man, was shot once at 3816 Woolwine Drive in City Terrace and died at 11:41 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21. He was outside when two Latino men, 25 and 32, in a pickup truck drove by, called him over and opened fire. Delgadillo also fired a gun, either just before being shot, or as he was dying. His shot "clipped the lung" of the driver, who managed to make it halfway to the hospital before his passenger, concerned with his erratic driving, took the wheel, said Sheriff's homicide Det. Jonas Shipe. The man remains hospitalized in stable condition. Both men were booked, but no charges have been filed yet, since it remains unclear who shot first. There were drugs in the house, and investigators suspect issues related to illegal drug sales and gangs. The Interstate 10 Freeway was briefly closed due to the investigation of this case, as sheriff's deputies searched for the suspect's gun in the area. They didn't find it.

Rodolfo Guerrero, 25

Rodolfo Guerrero, a 25-year-old Latino man, was shot multiple times in his driveway in the 400 block of West Texas Street in Pomona. The took place approximately 8:37 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 22; Guerrero died. HR is seeking more information.

Heriberto Corpus, 20

Heriberto Corpus, 20, a Latino man, was killed along with Felimon Contreras, 29, (below) in a double homicide at 17049 San Jose St. in Northridge. Both were shot multiple times. Their time of death was recorded as 2:20 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20. The two acquaintances were inside a house together, said LAPD Devonshire Det. Mike Fesperman. Contreras' girlfriend came home about 2 p.m., and found them both there, dead, and called police. There was no sign of a break-in. Both men were longtime residents of the San Fernando Valley. Corpus lived with his mother in Pacoima. They had probably died sometime mid-morning or early afternoon.

Felimon Contreras, 29

Felimon Contreras, a 29-year-old Latino man, is the second victim of the double homicide in Northridge described above.

Paulino Juarez, 34

Paulino Juarez, 34, a Latino man, was the victim of a gunshot through the heart at about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 9 in a vacant house at 229 W. Gage St. in LAPD's Newton Division. His body was not found until noon Thursday, Dec. 20.

Detectives in this case found themselves investigating a homicide without a body: Newton Det. Julio Benavides said that on Dec. 9, detectives got an anonymous call that someone was cleaning up a house where a man had been shot.

Police  arrived at the house and found several Latino males in their 20s scrubbing the abandoned house with Clorox. After some investigation, the detectives determined that some men had been in the house playing poker and drinking. There had been an argument over cheating. Someone had been shot, but it was unclear who. The body had been taken by some men in a stolen Honda Accord a few hours after the shooting. They had loaded it in the trunk and left the rest of the mess for the others to clean up.

Benavides and partner Det. Johnny Villa now had evidence of a murder, but no suspect and no body. They canvassed the neighborhood, and ran into a woman who was looking for her missing husband. The husband had been at the house playing poker, and had never returned.

Benavides and Villa suspected this missing man might be the murder victim. Finally, on Dec. 20, a city parking-ticket officer was preparing to impound a Honda Accord near a school in the 3800 block of 18th Street, and opened the trunk to do an inventory check. The body of Paulino Juarez, the missing husband, was inside, wrapped in a blanket. Detectives caught up with the suspect, 41-year-old Jesus Garcia, the same day, and arrested him. Victim Juarez had four children, three girls and a boy, all under the age of 7. He was a construction worker.   

Gary Freeman, 33

Gary Freeman, 33-year-old black man, was shot in the abdomen near Arlington and Adams Boulevard at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 16 in the Crenshaw area, and died at California Hospital a few days later, at 1:28 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 20. Freeman was on his way to his girlfriend's house in his older Cadillac Seville when a bullet ripped through the driver's-side door and hit him in the stomach area, said Det. Frank Alvelais of LAPD's South Bureau. The Cadillac careened into a couple of parked cars, and 911 operators got a call of a shooting--perhaps from Freeman himself, while he was still conscious.

Ronald Henry, 67

Ronald Henry, a 67-year-old black man, was stabbed in the neck at 915 Dawson Ave. in Long Beach, in an apartment, and died at 5:27 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19. Police got the call eight minutes before his time of death. Paramedics were already at the scene. They said he had been stabbed multiple times.