Daniel Gonzalez, 28

Daniel Gonzalez, 28, a Latino man, was shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting in Glendale about 9:30 p.m. Monday, March 31.  Gonzalez was the suspect in the shooting death two hours earlier of Jose Garcia, 25, a Latino man, near Occidental College, LAPD said.

Glendale police said an officer patrolling the area pulled alongside Gonzalez in the 300 block of South Chevy Chase Drive. Gonzalez fled on foot, firing over his shoulder at the patrol car, authorities said. Police responding to the officer's call that he was taking fire traded shots with Gonzalez. One officer was hit in the chest but was not seriously injured because he was wearing his bulletproof vest, police said. Gonzalez was shot and pronounced dead at the scene.

Meanwhile, homicide detectives from LAPD's Northeast Division were investigating the death of Garcia, a Latino man, who was shot in the 1400 block of North Avenue 51 in Highland Park, about 7:15 p.m. Monday, March 31. Garcia was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, where he was pronounced dead at 2 a.m. on Tuesday, April 1. Witnesses said Gonzalez and Garcia had been arguing when Gonzalez pulled a gun and allegedly shot Garcia, Det. Jose Carrillo said. Gonzalez, who had previously been convicted of second-degree murder, was released from prison two weeks ago. 

More in the Los Angeles Times story

Correction: Initially Daniel Gonzalez was identified as David Gonzalez by the Glendale Police Department.

Comments

[Vanessa Cortes Gonzalez]

okay.first of all no one shouldnt be saying things like that.
yeah he was a gangster.but u guys dont know him the way i did.and you shouldnt judge a book by its cover!..okay??hes my cousin.and what your saying pisses me off! you guys dont have a life.he was a very nice man.and all i can say is i love him.may he rest in peace.&&stop saying things that arent true!!

[Peter Young]

Tony, I think Mark's suggestion that drugs be decriminalized as a possible means of stopping all these killings rests on the propositions that criminalization of drugs greatly inflates their price, that decriminaliization will greatly reduce their price, that addicts will no longer have to commit crimes to get the money they need to obtain their drugs, and that gangs will be deprived of one of their major sources of income.

It should also be noted that many gang killings are drug-related--some are the result of rivalries over drug territories, some are over unpaid drug debts and some are over drug sales gone bad through misunderstandings and/or disputes. Presumably, if drugs were decriminalized, these killings would disappear.

Certainly these propositions warrant serious examination and consideration. But, in our society, they are unlikely to get it.

[Joe Lopez]

RiP Daniel Gonzalez he was my cousin, i know his life was violent and cruel, but maybe he thought that life wasn´t for him, he was mad against this life.

We´ll mis you cousin

[Derrick]

Really, this criminal should have never been released on parole from prison. I don't know what the parole board or the people who made the decision to release him were thinking. He out of prison less than two weeks and he murders someone. Yeah, he learned his lesson. He shots a police office but, his vest saved his life or we be having a funeral for another officer. This crininal was nothing but a cold blooded killer.

[Tony]

Mark, you wrote : "maybe its time to begin decriminalization of drugs.' Please explain how this would solve any gang problem? Do you realize that the vast majority of burglaries and thefts are committed by drug addicts? If you legalize drugs and make it easier for people to acquire and use; this will lead to more addicts and more crime. How about eliminating proposition 36? lets sent sellers and users to jail instead of classes.....

[Mark]

San Marino, here are three solutions:

1) Apply RICO laws aggressively and without mercy to anyone belonging to a gang, regardless of status or age.

2) For illegal aliens committing crimes, swift and merciless deportation after serving their sentences. And severe penalties if found to be back in this country after deportation.

3) Juveniles found to be in gangs to be moved to state work camps untill their mid 20's.

And finally, perhaps the most controversial..... maybe its time to begin decriminalization of drugs.

[Mark]

Just why was a convicted murderer back on the streets so soon?

Theres nothing anyone can say that makes him a decent or "misunderstood" person.

[San Marino]

Is there a soultion in stopping all these killings? I love Los Angeles, but it's getting really bad.

[Bill]

I love LAPD, they are doing a great job of protecting us from the ruthless gangs in Los Angeles.

[reality]

Finally someone writes the truth. I agree with Derrick, no sympathy for a clown like that. He lived a violent life so it also ended violent for him. I dont want to read people saying he was a great person this and that, he wasn't at all. He kills one person then tries to kill police, he got what he deserved.

[Marcos El Malo]

I've been combing reports and finally found out what happened on Ave. 51, and I finally got the info thru this story. Will there be any additional coverage of the Jose Garcia murder? Was it on the street? Inside a home?

I haven't seen the usual sidewalk shrine that one sees after a killing on Ave 51.

Also, for what it's worth, on the night of Monday, March 31st at 9:00 PM, a police officer blocking off Ave 51 at Meridian told me someone had been murdered, but wouldn't answer further questions (I didn't press the issue). Now, according to the story, the slaying victim Garcia wasn't pronounced dead until 2:00 AM.

Potentially fishy, unless Garcia's wounds were so grievous that there wasn't any doubt that he was going to die.

[Mark]

DXZ, take time to look at the map of the homicides.

Outside of south and east LA, things are quiet.

[DXZ]

After living here 22 years I've had enough. L.A. is almost complete in its transformation from beautiful American city to third-world battleground.

I've followed this blog for months and my conclusion: Live elsewhere.

This place is going to hell, and has been for some time. Schools? Traffic? Violence? Affordability? Back yards?

Seriously, why live here anymore?

[Derrick]

This guy lived a violent life and died a violent death. I don't have any sympathy for this criminal. Thank god he won't be around anymore to cause more pain in the streets of LA County.