Isiah Meza, 3
Died Feb. 17, 2011
Isiah Meza, a 3-year-old Latino, died Thursday, Feb. 17, in the 2900 block of Partridge Avenue in Elysian Valley, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Isiah was jumping on a bed when he was later found on the floor, preliminary coroner's records show. The floor was described as "carpet over cement slab." The child was in the care of the mother's boyfriend, who was not Isiah's biological father.
The cause of death has been deferred pending additional tests, coroner's officials said.
The Times has contacted investigators to obtain additional details about the death investigation and will post an update as soon as possible.
— Sarah Ardalani
More in: Elysian Valley, 3, Male, Other, Thursday, ACUNV, Latino, Residence
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 2:09 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2011 at 3:51 p.m.
James Stein, 53
Died Feb. 15, 2011
James Stein, a 53-year-old white man, was found dead Tuesday, Feb. 15, in the 4800 block of 112th Street in Lennox, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Stein's body, wrapped in cloth and plastic, was found buried in the backyard of his home, authorities said. He had had been reported missing in December.
According to coroner's records, he was "possibly beaten." A security hold has since been placed on the case, and the coroner's office cannot provide any additional information.
The victim's wife, Gabriela Stein, a 42-year-old Latina, was found dead and buried at the home several days later. She was last seen in January and also reported missing.
Detectives first visited the Stein's house on Feb. 14 after a resident, Jenny Salazar, a 22-year-old Latina, told them at least one body was buried there.
The woman's ex-boyfriend, Marcos Lomeli, a 26-year-old Latino, was arrested two days later for false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon and robbery. He and Salazar were occasional renters at the Lennox house, deputies said.
Salazar and Lomeli visited the home Jan. 12 to ask another resident to borrow a truck, an official said. Lomeli allegedly said he needed to move a couple of bodies. When the truck owner refused, the couple fired a gun in the house, beat him and tied him up, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Guillermina Saldana.
The man, whose name was not released, escaped and contacted authorities. On the afternoon of Feb. 14 ...
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More in: Lennox, 53, Male, Blunt force, Tuesday, LASD Homicide, White, Residence
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 2:06 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2011 at 3:51 p.m.
Roberto Sanchez, 13
Died Feb. 21, 2011
Roberto Sanchez, a 13-year-old Latino, was fatally shot Monday, Feb. 21, near Temple Street and Benton Way in Westlake, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Police said several men drove up about 7:25 p.m. and then walked over to Roberto and two teenage boys standing at the northwest corner.
At least one of the men opened fire, and witnesses said they saw Roberto fall to the ground before the attackers drove away in a dark-colored Toyota Camry, said Los Angeles Police Det. Michael Arteaga.
Roberto was hit several times and pronounced dead at the scene. The two other teenagers were not wounded and fled the scene before police arrived, officials said.
The shooting is believed to be gang-related.
Police are asking the two teenagers to come forward to help identify the suspects, and they urged anyone with information to call Rampart Station detectives at (213) 484-3639. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
— Tony Barboza
More in: Westlake, 13, Male, Gunshot, Monday, LAPD Rampart, Latino, Walk-up, Public place
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 1:52 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2011 at 3:52 p.m.
Saray Rivas, 15
Died Feb. 21, 2011
Saray Rivas, a 15-year-old Latina, died Monday, Feb. 21, after being shot in the 1300 block of 3rd Avenue in Arlington Heights, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Saray was shot in the head, coroner's records show.
The Times has contacted investigators to obtain additional details about the case and will post an update as soon as information becomes available.
Anyone with information about the teenager's death is asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department at (877) LAPD-24-7. Tipsters who'd like to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
— Sarah Ardalani
More in: Arlington Heights, 15, Female, Gunshot, Monday, LAPD Wilshire, Latino
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 1:52 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 24, 2011 at 2:03 p.m.
Janet Hays, 54
Died Feb. 20, 2011
Janet Hays, a 54-year-old white woman, died Sunday, Feb. 20, in the 200 block of West Badillo Street in Covina, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Authorities received a call regarding a possible suicide at a convalescent home about 11:30 p.m., said Covina Police Sgt. Gregg Peterson.
Paramedics arrived and Hays was pronounced dead at the scene.
Preliminary coroner's records note strangulation as a mode of death. As of Wednesday, a cause of death had been deferred pending additional tests. A final determination will not be available for at least six to eight weeks, officials said.
Sgt. Peterson said Hays had been at the medical facility since Jan. 5 recovering from a broken hip. She had jumped in front of a bus 11 days earlier.
Officials said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Anyone with information about the death of Janet Hays is asked to contact Det. Dan Regan at (626) 384-5621. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
— Sarah Ardalani
More in: Covina, 54, Female, Strangled, Sunday, Covina PD, White, Residence
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 1:52 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2011 at 3:53 p.m.
Avery Dean, 22
Died Feb. 20, 2011
Avery Dean, a 22-year-old black man, was fatally shot Sunday, Feb. 20, in the 11400 block of South Vermont Avenue in Vermont Vista, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Dean and his friends had just gotten into a car and were preparing to leave about 1:18 a.m. when multiple shots were fired into the car, according to Los Angeles Police Officer Bruce Borihanh and Lt. Larry Barr. It was not clear whether the shots were fired by someone in another car or on foot, Barr said.
The victim's friends moved him to the back seat and began to drive, searching for a hospital nearby, Barr said.
Several hospitals with emergency rooms are located within three miles of where the shooting occurred, including Memorial Hospital of Gardena, Community Hospital of Gardena and Centinela Hospital Medical Center. It was not clear why the men did not drive to those hospitals or call 911 from the car, Barr said. He said he was not sure whether the men had a cellphone.
“They drove quite a distance,” Barr said. “They were trying very hard to get assistance.”
The men drove for at least four miles, and then stopped at a service station at 154th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard, Borihanh said. They asked the clerk at the station to call 911. Paramedics responded and declared Dean dead at the scene, Barr and Borihanh said.
According to coroner's records, Dean was shot in the head.
Police do not believe the shooting ...
More in: Vermont Vista, 22, Male, Gunshot, Sunday, LAPD Criminal Gang Homicide, Black, Parked vehicle
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 1:52 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2011 at 3:53 p.m.
Jewell King, 54
Died Feb. 19, 2011
Jewell King, a 54-year-old black woman, was shot and killed Saturday, Feb. 19, in the 11600 block of South Main Street in Broadway-Manchester, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Authorities received a 911 call of "gunshots heard" about 9:45 p.m., said LAPD Criminal Gang and Homicide Det. Kerri Potter, who is handling the investigation.
King was found outside with gunshot wounds to the chest and arm, according to coroner's records.
Paramedics were called and the victim was taken to Harbor UCLA Medical Center, where she later died.
Potter said no arrests have been made in connection with the case and a motive for the shooting remains unknown.
At this time, investigators do not have a description of the shooter.
Anyone with information about the death of Jewell King is asked to contact Det. Potter at (213) 485-4341. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
— Sarah Ardalani
More in: Broadway-Manchester, 54, Female, Gunshot, Saturday, LAPD Criminal Gang Homicide, Black
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 1:52 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 24, 2011 at 2:59 p.m.
David Mcmahon, 49
Died Feb. 19, 2011
David McMahon, a 49-year-old white man, was fatally shot by police Saturday, Feb. 19, in the 4600 block of Fountain Avenue in East Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
According to LAPD Lt. Ricky Banks, officers were called around 9:30 a.m. to investigate a report of a prowler. When officers arrived they spotted McMahon, who fit the description of the suspect. He began running north along Westmoreland and then turned west on Fountain Avenue, Banks said.
Banks said that as a trio of officers were chasing McMahon, he displayed a handgun and pointed it at the officers. The officers responded by shooting the suspect.
According to coroner's records, McMahon was shot several times.
During the incident, one officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries to his face from glass fragments, Banks said. He would not elaborate.
At the scene Saturday, police cordoned off a section of sidewalk between two cars. On the ground lay a handgun as well as a number of shell casings with plastic markers placed beside them.
"It's horribly sad," said area resident Liz Dwyer, 38, who stood behind a length of police tape. "It’s awful to know that would happen."
Dwyer said the area has some gang problems, and there are many incidents of armed robberies and cars being broken into. But Dwyer said the neighborhood flies under the police radar because there aren't many reports of shootings.
— Ruben Vives
Photo: A handgun lies on the sidewalk behind a parking ...
More in: East Hollywood, 49, Male, Gunshot, Saturday, LAPD Force Investigation, White, Officer-involved, Public place
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 1:52 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2011 at 3:54 p.m.
Gabriela Stein, 42
Died Feb. 19, 2011
Gabriela Stein, a 42-year-old Latina, was found dead Saturday, Feb. 19, in the 4800 block of 112th Street in Lennox, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
The victim's body was discovered buried at her home. She was last seen in January and reported missing.
Gabriela's husband, James Stein, a 53-year-old white man, was also found dead several days prior. His body, wrapped in cloth and plastic, was discovered buried in the backyard of the home, authorities said. He had been reported missing in December.
Detectives first visited the Stein's house on Feb. 14 after a resident, Jenny Salazar, a 22-year-old Latina, told them at least one body was buried there.
The woman's ex-boyfriend, Marcos Lomeli, a 26-year-old Latino, was arrested two days later for false imprisonment, assault with a deadly weapon and robbery. He and Salazar were occasional renters at the Lennox house, deputies said.
Salazar and Lomeli visited the home Jan. 12 to ask another resident to borrow a truck, an official said. Lomeli allegedly said he needed to move a couple of bodies. When the truck owner refused, the couple fired a gun in the house, beat him and tied him up, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Guillermina Saldana.
The man, whose name was not released, escaped and contacted authorities. On the afternoon of Feb. 14, deputies were called back to the home by a person saying that Salazar had returned.
Deputies said that when they arrived, Salazar was standing near a pickup ...
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More in: Lennox, 42, Female, Other, Saturday, LASD Homicide, Latino, Residence
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 1:51 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2011 at 3:55 p.m.
Stephen Bullock, 33
Died Feb. 18, 2011
Stephen Bullock, a 33-year-old black man, was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy Friday, Feb. 18, in the 900 block of East New York Drive in Altadena, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Deputies stopped two men in a vehicle for a traffic violation about 11:30 p.m., Sgt. Debra Herman said. Bullock got out of the passenger side of the car and ran, and deputies chased him.
After a couple hundred yards, Bullock stopped and struggled with one of the deputies, Sheriff’s Capt. Ray Leyva said. When he pulled a gun from his waistband, the deputy pulled his weapon and fired one shot at the suspect, Leyva said.
Bullock was pronounced dead at the scene. A gun was recovered from the location.
The deputy’s name was not released.
— Corina Knoll
More in: Altadena, 33, Male, Gunshot, Friday, LASD Homicide, Black, Officer-involved, Public place
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 1:51 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2011 at 3:55 p.m.
Miguel Sanchez Jr., 21
Died Feb. 15, 2011
Miguel Sanchez Jr., a 21-year-old Latino, died Tuesday, Feb. 15, hours after he was shot by an off-duty officer in the 1500 block of West 224th Street in Harbor Gateway, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
An off-duty policeman parked his personal car near Denker Avenue and West 224th Street on Feb. 14 about 11:45 p.m. when he saw Sanchez running toward him with a gun, according to an LAPD news release.
Authorities said Sanchez pointed the gun at the policeman, at which point the officer-involved shooting occurred.
Paramedics were called and Sanchez was pronounced dead at the scene.
The off-duty officer, who has been with the department for three years and seven months, was not hurt during the incident. Police are withholding the officer's name because there are outstanding assailants connected to the case.
A review of the officer-involved shooting will be conducted by the LAPD Force Investigation Division, as well as the police chief, the Office of the Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners and the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, officials said.
— Sarah Ardalani
More in: Harbor Gateway, 21, Male, Gunshot, Tuesday, LAPD Force Investigation, Latino, Officer-involved, Public place
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Posted: Feb. 23, 2011 at 1:50 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 25, 2011 at 3:55 p.m.
Double killing in Exposition Park leaves friends and family reeling
Early Sunday morning, Salvador Medina awoke to gunshots in his front yard in Exposition Park. Outside he found his close friend Alfonso Nava, a 26-year-old Latino, on the sidewalk choking on his own blood. Another friend, Diego Garcia, a 25-year old Latino, had collapsed in rosebushes nearby. His gunshot wounds also proved fatal.
“There was blood everywhere, on the steps and everything,” said Medina, 20, of Nava's injuries. “I looked and saw my friend just twitching. I felt his heart, I hugged him, and he was gone. He was holding my arm, and I just felt him let go. My shorts, my stomach, my arm, they were all covered in blood.”
Benjamin Gottlieb and Mary Slosson of USC’s Neon Tommy/Annenberg Digital News reported on the killings for the Homicide Report. Their dispatch is one in a series of reports from USC students working in partnership with The Times.
Photo: Salvador Medina, Roberto Nava and Manuel Balderas with friends at the Nava/Garcia memorial. Credit: Mary Slosson
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Posted: Feb. 18, 2011 at 4:37 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 18, 2011 at 7:07 p.m.
City officials offer reward for capture of Gramercy Park shooter
Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks offered a $50,000 reward Tuesday for information that could lead to the capture of the shooter who killed a man in Gramercy Park last week.
On Feb. 9, Herbert Seymour Jr., a 31-year-old black man, was walking home from a nearby liquor store near 105th Street and Western Avenue about 10:40 p.m. when an unknown person approached from behind and shot him several times, according to an LAPD news release.
Authorities were called and Seymour was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 11 p.m.
Investigators said the assailant was last seen fleeing the area on foot heading north on Western Avenue toward 104th Street.
The killer is described as a black male in his late teens to early 20s.
Police said the motive for the shooting remains unknown.
Since January 2007, at least 467 homicides have been reported within four miles of Seymour's shooting, according to coroner’s data collected for the Homicide Report.
Anyone with information about the death of Herbert Seymour Jr. or the identity of the shooter is asked to contact 77th Street Criminal Gang and Homicide Division Det. Eric Crosson or Sam Arnold at (213) 485-1383. During non-business hours, calls should be made to (877) LAPD-24-7. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
— Sarah Ardalani
Photo: Cynthia Seymour hugs daughter Christian, 11, after the L.A. Police Department announced a $50,000 reward for information in the killing ...
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Posted: Feb. 17, 2011 at 2:52 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 17, 2011 at 11:05 p.m.
Man pleads no contest to 2008 beating death of friend
Alex Quintana, a 22-year-old Latino, pleaded no contest last week to the charge of first-degree murder in the death of Fernando Garcia, a 21-year-old Latino, according to a Los Angeles County district attorney's news release.
Prosecutor Hubert Yun said Quintana admitted to the "allegation that the murder was done willfully, deliberately and with premeditation." The defendant also confessed to using a sledgehammer during the killing.
Authorities allege that on Nov. 17, 2008, Quintana bound his friend Garcia's wrists with a power cord from a video game console, and then hit him several times with the sledgehammer.
He then wrapped the victim's body in blankets and left him in a trash can at a residence in Boyle Heights.
According to police, the hammer was found on a dresser in the garage where Garcia was killed.
After the killing, Quintana fled to Nevada, but was arrested more than a week later. He was linked to the murder when DNA analysis confirmed that Garcia's blood was on his shoes, officials said.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald Rose said Quintana will be sentenced March 1. He faces a minimum sentence of 26 years to life in state prison.
— Sarah Ardalani
Top photo: Fernando Garcia. Credit: LAPD. Bottom photo: Adam Quintana booking photo. Credit: LAPD
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Posted: Feb. 16, 2011 at 2:30 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 17, 2011 at 10:34 p.m.
Gang member convicted in murder of high school football player
A Compton gang member was convicted Feb. 14 in the 2009 shooting death of a high school football player.
Arlon Watson, a 22 year-old black man, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Dannie Farber, an 18-year-old black man.
On May 24, Farber, an All-City wide receiver from Harbor City's Narbonne High School, and his girlfriend were eating at Louisiana Fried Chicken in Compton about 9:40 p.m. when Watson walked through a side door and approached their table, police said.
"Where you from?" Watson said. Sensing danger, Farber replied, “I don’t gangbang.”
Watson shot Farber several times and ran out the door, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Eddie Brown said. Farber tried to crawl toward the door but collapsed near the counter.
Investigators later confirmed that Farber was not involved in gangs and that Watson killed the young man based only on suspicions that his gang turf was being infringed upon.
Watson, who was arrested eight months after the shooting, faces 80 years to life in prison.
Reporter Shan Li has more: Gang member convicted in 2009 murder of Narbonne High football star
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Posted: Feb. 16, 2011 at 1:41 p.m.
Updated: Feb. 16, 2011 at 10:18 p.m.
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