Travis Ryan Rutledgehass, 29

Travis Ryan Rutledgehass, a 29-year-old white man, was shot and killed Monday, April 11, in the 4000 block of East Avenue G in Lancaster, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Rutledgehass was at the home of Michael Shaun Greenstone, 34, when he was shot with an AK-47 assault rifle, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. John Corina. Rutledgehass was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:54 p.m. with a gunshot wound to the head, according to coroner’s records.

Greenstone was arrested at his residence that evening and has been charged with murder, according to Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. He is scheduled to be arraigned on May 24 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Antelope Valley courthouse. His bail has been set at $2 million. 

Investigators aren’t sure what led to the shooting, Corina said. “There was a group of people at the house, and we believe there was some sort of disagreement. Then all of a sudden the suspect pulls out an assault rifle and starts shooting at the victim.”

No other people were injured, Corina said. 

Greenstone, an Army veteran, has two prior convictions involving an assault rifle, according to the court filings. In 2009, he was convicted of aggravated assault in Bexar County, Texas, when he shot a 15-year-old boy in the chest as the boy was walking in a ditch behind his house in San Antonio. 

And in February of 2014, Greenstone was sentenced to two years in California state prison for possessing an assault rifle. However, he was released in June 2014, after receiving 463 days credit for time served before he was sentenced, and for good behavior under the day-for-day credit system, which cut his remaining time to four months, according to Luis Patino, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Rutledgehass didn’t know the man accused of killing him, said his girlfriend, Ingrid Fonseca, the mother of two of his three children. 

“He was riding with our roommate, who went by there to drop off some mail for a friend who lives with this guy,” Fonseca said. “He died on my birthday. He left to get a birthday cake for me, and he never came back.”

Rutledgehass grew up in the San Fernando Valley, attended Sylmar High School and worked in construction as a painter, Fonseca said. 

He and Fonseca two became a couple in 2009, she said, and have a 3-year-old girl and 8-month-old son. But she emphasized that their family also includes Rutledgehass’ 8-year-old son, whom he saw often.

Rutledgehass’ goals revolved around his family and being a good father, she said. 

“He loved our yearly trips to Lake Isabella to visit his uncle for the Fourth of July," Fonseca said.

"He really looked up to his uncle … and he loved just hanging out with all his cousins, watching his kids play with his cousins’ kids. He loved watching the family interaction, and then watching the fireworks all together as a family from his uncle’s deck. ... He was a good guy. He had a warm heart and a good soul."

The shooting is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call the Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.  

Photo: Travis Rutledgehass at Lake Isabella during a family gathering in 2015. Credit: Family photo provided by Ingrid Fonseca

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.