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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.
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
 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.
Continue reading "Notes on 2007: Missing Cases" »
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, 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, 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, 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, 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
The following posts represent the victims of homicide in Los Angeles County for the week of Dec. 24-30, 2007.
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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, a 23-year-old black woman, is the second victim of the double homicide in South L.A. described above.
 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.)
The following 16 posts represent the victims of homicide in Los Angeles County for the week of Dec. 17-22, 2007.
 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, a 29-year-old Latino man, is the second victim of the double homicide in Northridge described above.
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-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, 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.
Wayne Taylor, a 65-year-old black man, was killed, and his dismembered body was found Wednesday morning, Dec. 19, by firefighters fighting a small fire in a fenced-off abandoned strip mall at 3855 W. Santa Rosalia Drive in Crenshaw. LAPD robbery-homicide is investigating.
-- Richard Winton/LAT
Almiria Herrera, a 28-year-old Latina woman, was shot in a backyard in the 2100 block of East 112th Street in Watts at about 10 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17.
Herrera is a mother of four who worked for the city parking-enforcement detail. Her family shares two homes on a lot on this location. Two to four black men came to the back house on this date to rob the members of the family occupying that unit. Herrera, and other family members who live in the front house, came outside and interrupted the robbery. There was yelling. One of the suspects fired a shot, striking Herrera. They ran on foot without taking anything. She was taken to a local hospital, where she died.
Richard Winkleman, a 48-year-old white man, was killed by a shotgun blast near 2567 Walnut Ave. in Venice and died at 11:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17. Detectives believe he may have been killed in an attempted robbery. He had parked his 2002 Harley Davidson motorcycle in the alley and was walking away from it when someone confronted him. There was an argument, then a blast. Winkleman died at the scene; the suspect fled. Winkleman was divorced with grown children. He was a longtime Venice resident who had spent time in prison. Anyone with information is asked to call LAPD Pacific detectives at (310) 482 -6369.
(You have reached the end of the weekly listing of homicide victims in Los Angeles County, Dec. 17-22, 2007.)
The HR is off. We will provide more information on the following recent homicides and other cases after Tuesday.
Montebello: Joe Alvarado, 22, was shot in the 800 block of Mines Avenue in Montebello and died at 6:56 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22
Compton: 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.
Compton: Clifford Ingram, 44, a black man, was listed as the victim of a homicide at 924 W. 130th St. in Compton; death time, 1:25 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22.
Covina: 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
City Terrace: 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 men in a pickup truck drove by, and called him over to the cab of the truck. They fired, hitting Delgadillo, and Delgadillo returned fire before dying. His shot "clipped the lung" of one of the suspects in the truck, said Sheriff's homicide Det. Jonas Shipe. He remains hospitalized in stable condition, and is under arrest, as is his accomplice. The suspects are Latino men, 25 and 32. There were drugs in the house, and investigators suspect issues related to illegal drug sales and gangs were involved in the conflict.
South-Central Los Angeles: Paulino Juarez, 34, a Latino man, was the victim of a gunshot through the heart at about 5:30 p.m. Dec. 9th in a vacant house at 229 W. Gage St. in LAPD's Newton Division. His body was finally found at 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.
They 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 now had a name for this 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. Paulino Juarez's body 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.
Crenshaw: Gary Freeman, 33, a black man, was shot in the abdomen near Arlington and Adams Boulevard at about 5:30 a.m. Dec. 16 in the Crenshaw area, and died at California Hospital 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.
Northridge: Two men, Felimon Contreras, 29, and Heriberto Corpus, 20, both Latino, were shot multiple times in a double homicide at 17049 San Jose Street. There 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's girlfriend came home about 2 p.m., and found them both there, dead, shot to death, 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.
Long Beach: Ronald Henry, 67, a 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.
Venice: Richard Winkleman, a 48-year-old white man, was killed by a shotgun blast near 2567 Walnut Ave. in Venice; time of death: 11:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17. Detectives believe he may have been killed in an attempted robbery. He had parked his 2002 Harley Davidson motorcycle in the alley and was walking away from it when someone confronted him. There was an argument, then a blast. He died at the scene. The suspect fled. Winkleman was divorced with grown children. He was a longtime Venice resident who had spent time in prison. Anyone with information is asked to call LAPD Pacific detectives at (310) 482 -6369.
 Compounded grief: Readers of the Homicide Report responded strongly to the death of 37-year-old Timothy Johnson in November, and their comments drew the attention of Los Angeles Times editors. Check the Sunday Los Angeles Times newspaper for HR comments excerpted in a cover story of the Sunday Opinion section, or click below for the online version.
Los Angeles Times Opinion section
Johnson post on HR
The following posts represent the victims of homicide in Los Angeles County for the week. HR is seeking information on one additional Dec. 17 homicide in West Covina; information will be added as it becomes available.
Below, Rampart activists gathered across from the Tommy's burger stand on Thursday, singing and preaching, to mark the homicide death of Javier Calleja, 18, shot to death there last week. --(photo and contributions by Times reporter Ruben Vives)
 Susan Kim, a 52-year-old woman from Korea, was stabbed multiple times in the kitchen of 1348 Raymond Ave. in Glendale. Her daughter found her at about 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 16.
Her boyfriend, Soo Duk "Brandon" Kim, a 45-year-old man also of Korean descent, was arrested shortly afterward. Acquaintances described her as a quiet woman and the neighborhood as largely crime-free. She was in the process of leaving him.
Javier Colleja, an 18-year-old Latino young man, died after being shot at the Tommy's burger 24-hour restaurant at 2575 Beverly Blvd. in LAPD's Rampart Division at 3:43 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 16.
The popular hamburger stand was busy. The crowd consisted of young men and women from all over, including some USC students. Colleja was among a group of people standing outside against the wall eating hamburgers, as is customary there. There were some young men and a couple of young women. The attacker, a Latino man or youth dressed in dark clothing, walked up and, without a word, started shooting at the group, then walked away. Colleja was the only person hit. He was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
When officers arrived at the scene, much of the crowd had melted away. Fleeing diners had left unfinished hamburgers on the counter.
Colleja's parents live in Mexico; he lived with an uncle and other family members in South Los Angeles. He may not have been the intended target of this shooting, said Rampart homicide Det. Fred Faustino. Anyone who was at Tommy's is asked to call detectives and report what they saw. (213) 207-2060.
 Francisco Licon, 27, a Latino man, was shot multiple times in the chest at 20737 Arline Ave. in Lakewood at about 1:55 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 16, and died two hours later at Long Beach Memorial Hospital.
A few moments before the shooting, Licon had said someone was in the neighborhood looking to attack people. He went outside, and was shot in an alley, along with another man, who was treated at a hospital, then released. The suspect is a 20- to 25-year-old Latino man in a dark van. Anyone with information is asked to call sheriff's homicide detectives at (323) 890-5500.
Continue reading "Francisco Licon, 27" »
 Jonah Alexander, a 24-year-old black man, was shot in the chest at the intersection of Western Avenue and Carlton Way at 2:55 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 15, and died within the hour at 3:36 a.m.
A passerby found him in the roadway next to the curb. He was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he died. LAPD Hollywood detectives said some dispute was involved.
Timothy Thomas Jr., a 22-year-old black man, was shot in the back at 829 Lewis in Pomona and died on Friday, Dec.14. More to come.
Dontae Jackson, an 18-year-old black young man, was shot multiple times at 2418 Caldwell St. in Compton. His time of death was 7:55 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14. More information to come.
Francisco Ruiz, 26, a Latino man, was the victim of a shooting in an undisclosed place at an undisclosed time in Bell Gardens. His time of death was listed at 5:25 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13. HR is seeking more information.
 Ricardo Hernandez, 20, a young Latino man, was shot multiple times while standing in a relative's garage at 10175 Laurel Canyon Blvd. in Pacoima at about 7:40 p.m. last night, Thursday, Dec. 13. He died at the scene immediately, at 7:42 p.m. Two Latino suspects then fled.
Shortly after, a police helicopter patrolling the area had spotted a car, driving fast and erratically, weaving in and out of traffic, said LAPD Foothill Patrol Capt. Ivan Minsal. The "airship" began tracking the car. Soon after, a radio broadcast came that described the car linked to Hernandez's murder, and the helicopter crew realized they were following the murder suspects. By the time patrol units on the ground caught up with the suspects, they had ditched the car and fled on foot. Police dogs tracked down one of them, however. The suspect, Pedro Serrano, was arrested in a yard; a second suspect remains outstanding.
Hector Acosta, a 24-year-old Latino man, was shot multiple time to the head, chest and back at 2525 Millbrae St. in Duarte. His time of death was 6:25 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12. The Sheriff's Department is investigating. More information to come.
Martine Perez, a 42-year-old Latino man, suffered blunt force trauma to the head at an undisclosed location in Los Angeles County, and died at 2:05 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 12. Sheriff's homicide detectives are investigating. More information to come.
Terry Haga, 69, a white man, was reported as a Los Angeles County homicide victim because he died here, even though he actually was the victim of an assault in Las Vegas four months ago.
According to Sgt. Russell Shoemaker of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Haga, a retiree, was found lying next to his car in the driveway of a neighbor's home in the 2800 block of Northam Street in Las Vegas late at night on Aug. 20, 2007. He had been stabbed, and the neighbor called 911.
He was taken to a local Vegas hospital, and doctors thought he was going to survive. He was transferred into one rehabilitation center, then another, moving toward release. But then family members became concerned for his health. He was transferred to a medical facility in Los Angeles County, then died there of complications of his injuries at 4:25 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12.
The Homicide Report uses coroner's records to count homicide in Los Angeles County, so although Haga's murder is technically a Nevada case, his death here qualifies him as an L.A. victim. Much like Los Angeles, Las Vegas homicides are down sharply this year. Las Vegas has had 119 homicides so far this year, down 23% from this time last year.
Tina Marie Gatlin, 45, a black woman, was found shot to death in a car in the 11000 block of Vista Del Mar between the empty land owned by LAX and Dockweiler State beach at about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11. Two police officers driving by noticed her car parked on the roadside. They stopped to tell the driver to move the car, and found Gatlin dead, in the driver's seat, shot perhaps 30 minutes before.
Gatlin was a professional manager and a mother of three--one grown child and two minors. She was single, and lived in Watts--"a nice lady who never even got a traffic ticket," said Det. Mike DePasquale of LAPD's Pacific Division. She worked at a relatively high post in the local management ranks of Food-4-Less, roving from store to store.
Nelly Vergara, 20, a Latina young woman, was shot in the upper chest and killed at about 11:20 a.m. Monday, Dec. 10, at 2486 W. Venice Blvd in the Harvard Heights area west of downtown Los Angeles and north of the 10 Freeway. She was the victim, police said, of a drive-by shooting. She died minutes after, at 11:32 a.m. Dec. 10.
She was waiting at a bus stop with her boyfriend and another young man. The attackers drove up and shot out of the car at them in a rare drive-by shooting (most Los Angeles street shootings nowadays are walk-ups). Two Latino men and two Latino youths were later taken into custody and charged. Their apprehension was aided by a global-positioning system bracelet worn by one of the offenders.
(You have reached the end of the weekly listing of homicide victims in Los Angeles County, Dec. 10-17, 2007.)
(HR has been returning every month to interview Barbara Pritchett and her family since June, when Pritchett's 15-year-old son Dovon Harris was murdered in the Nickerson Gardens housing project in Watts. Above, Pritchett and daughter Dwaina at Dovon's gravesite Friday.--Brian VanderBrug/LAT)
On Thursday, Pritchett passed out in a hallway of the Compton courthouse.
It was during proceedings for the defendants in Dovon's murder case. She was sitting near the front of the courtroom, she said. A witness was describing the last moments of Dovon's life: How he stepped off a bus, and started to walk. How the gun went off. How the witness looked back and saw Dovon lying on the ground...
Pritchett felt a burning in her chest. She was out of the courtroom as fast as she could walk, seeking refuge in the hallway. Her daughter Dwaina, 18, and Duane Harris, Dovon's father, followed her. Pritchett had moved near a window.
Dwaina joined her, watching as her mother took heaving breaths. Pritchett was hyperventilating. Suddenly, she slumped. Harris caught her, and eased her onto the floor. Court staff called paramedics. Nothing medically wrong, they said later. Just stress.
Continue reading "Six months after a homicide" »
The following 13 posts represent the victims of homicide in Los Angeles County for the one-week period of Dec. 3-9, 2007. This is the weekly comprehensive homicide list, updated with information from the Los Angeles County coroner.
Ronnie Burgess, 21, a white young man, was killed in a drive-by shooting at 7:45 p.m. in the 10100 block of Samoa Avenue in Tujunga.
This happened in a neighborhood of Tujunga called "The Rock." Burgess was walking home. The suspects, a group in a car, cruised by in a car and demanded, "Where you from?"
They shot him for his answer, according to Foothill homicide Det. Pat Barron. Officers got a shooting call and found him dead.
The description of the suspects and their car matched that connected to another shooting case, and also to a pursuit case in Pasadena. Glendale police spotted the stolen car and took the suspects into custody. They found a shell casing in the car. Some of the group were charged with joy-riding and jailed. Because of a legal technicality, the suspects had to be released from Glendale jail on the one charge before being arrested on the other. LAPD Foothill detectives quite literally waited in the street outside the jail. When the suspects walked out, they pounced, handcuffing the group, and arresting them again, this time on homicide-related charges. All the suspects are Latino. One is a minor, another is a woman.
Victim Burgess had had some run-ins with law enforcement. Conflicting police records showed him as the member of more than one Latino gang.
Ramon Godina, 39, a Latino man, was stabbed in the arm and chin about 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, and died shortly after at St. Francis Medical Center. Police believe the weapon was a samurai sword. Police received a call of a "stabbing victim down," and found Godina in a patio area at 4267 E. Compton Blvd. Witnesses told them the killer was still in the area. The suspect, a 34-year-old black man, was located and arrested; he claims no recollection of what happened, investigators said. Charges are pending. People, including possibly the suspect and the victim, were drinking in the area before the killing. The samurai sword has not yet been found.
Patrick Moore, 47, a black man, was listed as a homicide victim by the Los Angeles County coroner after his remains were found in two Dumpsters around 3:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, in the East Hollywood area -- one Dumpster at Western and Franklin avenues, the other in the 1800 block of Western Avenue. Frank Ruiz, 21, a Latino young man, was arrested at his home in the 1700 block of North Western Avenue the same day on a parole violation, and later charged with murder. LAPD Hollywood detectives continue to investigate. Moore was single, had no children, and lived in a residence hotel. He had had run-ins with the law on multiple occasions. L.A. Times
Daniel Thomas Lee, 34, a white man, died at 1:07 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7 from head injuries he received in a baseball bat attack in an apartment complex at Downey Avenue and Elburg Street in Paramount more than a year before.
The incident took place February 6, 2006. Suspect Kenneth Penn Jr., a 24-year-old black man, was convicted for the crime and is now serving time in state prison. According to Sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman, Lee and Penn got into an argument one day in February, then met later and resumed the fight. After Penn hit him in the head with the bat, Lee was taken to St. Francis hospital in a coma. He was later transferred to Memorial Hospital in Gardena. He remained comatose the entire 22 months before his death.
 Adam Blount, 28, a black man, was shot and killed Thursday night, Dec. 6, at about 11 p.m. in the 1600 block of W. 36th Street, west of Normandie Avenue in South L.A. He had just left the recreation center at Denker Park and was walking to his home, which is near the murder scene. His assailants caught up with him as he walked on the sidewalk. There was gunfire, and Blount was taken to California Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was single, and had no children. When detectives arrived at the murder scene, no one was around, and it had begun to rain.
Anyone who was in the vicinity of West 36th Street or Denker Park that night is asked to call LAPD Southwest Dets. Stacy Szymkowiak or Rob Lait at (213)485-1383.
 Diana Tomas, 14, a Latina girl, was shot in the head and left lying on a pathway next to a sound wall blocking the 101 Freeway in LAPD's Rampart Division at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 2. She was taken from 417 N. Lafayette Park Place near Benton Way to County-USC Medical Center, where she survived for four more days.
Diana's death on Thursday, Dec. 6, is just now being reported on the Homicide Report because she did not die immediately, and because investigators did not know who she was. Thinking she was about 20 years old, Diana was listed as "Jane Doe" at the hospital.
 Meanwhile, the same afternoon Diana was shot, her mother had gone to the Rampart station to report her missing. Diana was a Virgil Middle School student who sometimes ran away from home. Officers took the report, not realizing she was the same person then lingering on a respirator at County-USC. Diana had never been arrested, so when she was fingerprinted at the hospital, police could find no match and were unable to identify her.
It took a few more days to put it together. Diana's mother heard a rumor that a young woman had been shot and returned to the station to ask if this might be her daughter. Det. J. Kessner of Rampart drove the mother to the hospital, where she saw her daughter, still alive on life support. Diana's head was so swollen from the gunshot wound that her mother had to walk around both sides of the bed to identify her in what Kessner described as a painful scene. "It was shocking to us when we found out she was 14," said Det. Fred Faustino, Rampart homicide supervisor. Diana died at 9:18 a.m. Dec. 6.
There was new tagging on the sound wall near where she fell. She may have been walking by and been caught in crossfire, Faustino said. Detectives are seeking information on the case. They are at (213) 207-2060.
Saul Garcia, a 21-year-old Latino young man, was shot at least twice along with his companion, Kevin Deville, 21, listed below, in a double homicide at 7058 Hazeltine Ave. in Van Nuys at about 10:35 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5. The two were standing together when a gunman, or two, walked up and shot them. Police got a shots-fired call in the area; they arrived but found nothing, and cleared the scene.
Right after the officers left, another call came on the radio: Someone had seen the two young men lying wounded on a grassy median next to the sidewalk a little ways away. The city Fire Department was already there. Either Garcia or Deville was transported to Holy Cross Medical Center. But both young men died very soon after being shot.
Van Nuys detectives are appealing to the public for help with the case. Anyone who heard or saw anything is asked to call (818) 374-1952, or, after hours, (818) 374-1962.
Update:L.A. Councilwoman Wendy Greuel announced a $25,000 reward on Friday, July 11, in the San Fernando Valley for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murders of Saul Garcia, 21, and Kevin Deville, 21.
Continue reading "Saul Garcia, 21" »
 Kevin Deville, 21, a black young man, died in the same double homicide as described above. His time of death was listed as 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5. He had been shot several times.
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 Chris Coronado, 53, a Latino man, was shot and killed on the street at 811 S. Lucerne in Park Mile in LAPD's Wilshire area at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5. Both Coronado and his assailant were on foot. It's unclear what happened between them. No one was around but Coronado and his killer. He was found dead on the pavement by police.
Coronado lived in L.A. and was an employee of the Vons store on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica--"a good guy," according to a manager there.
Wilshire detectives seek any information about the crime. (213) 473-0446.
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