The Homicide Report

Caregiver charged in stabbing death of Long Beach woman

Posted Feb. 12, 2019, 12:51 p.m.

A 55-year-old woman has pleaded not guilty to fatally stabbing a woman in her Long Beach apartment last April, according to authorities.

Theresa Lynn Dargan was arrested on suspicion of murder May 10, according to online jail records.

Dargan has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. She is due back in court Feb. 25.

On April 14, 51-year-old Olympia Riley was found dead in her apartment in the 1400 block of Walnut Avenue, police said.

Riley had been stabbed to death. Police said Dargan worked as a caregiver for Riley, but authorities did not provide additional information about the killing.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.

Adam Gilbert Calderon, 30

Posted Feb. 11, 2019

Adam Gilbert Calderon, a 30-year-old Latino male, died Monday, Feb. 11, in East Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.

Timothy Dywane Jackson, 53

Posted Feb. 11, 2019

Timothy Dywane Jackson, a 53-year-old black male, died Friday, Feb. 8, after being shot in View Park-Windsor Hills, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

David Cirilo Cervantes, 60

Posted Feb. 7, 2019

David Cirilo Cervantes, a 60-year-old white male, died Wednesday, Feb. 6, after sustaining blunt force trauma in Glendale, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Robert Ricardo Gonzalez, 27

By Jeanette Marantos

Posted Feb. 11, 2019

Robert Ricardo Gonzalez, a 27-year-old Latino, was fatally stabbed on Wednesday, Feb. 6, in the 16200 block of Shoemaker Avenue in Cerritos, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Investigators believe Gonzalez was a homeless man who had been living in a small encampment of two or three tents along an abandoned set of railroad tracks in an industrial area near Shoemaker Avenue and Moore Street, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Derrick Alfred.

Around 1:20 p.m., Gonzalez got into an argument with two men and was stabbed by one, Alfred said.

The two men, described only as adult males, ran from the scene, Alfred said. One of Gonzalez's friends ran into a nearby business to report the stabbing, he said, and someone called 911.

Gonzalez was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:14 p.m ...

Man shot under freeway was father of three who loved children ‘with all my soul’

By Melissa Gomez

Posted Feb. 5, 2019, 11:39 a.m.

On a rainy night in November, Francisco Javier Rodriguez posted a photo of himself on Instagram. Under the photo he wrote how he missed his family — his three children and their mother, whom he had recently separated from.

The 24-year-old wrote that he hoped to see the children during their upcoming birthdays and the holidays.

“Let them know I love them very much with all my soul," he wrote.

Three days later, about 6:50 a.m. on Nov. 24, officers received a call of a shooting on Plummer Street under the 405 Freeway in North Hills.

When police arrived, they found Rodriguez inside a tent under the freeway, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

It is unclear why he was in the area. A family member said he may have been visiting a friend’s mother.

According to police, a man ...

Chloe Marie Corona, 28

By Jeanette Marantos

Posted Feb. 6, 2019

Chloe Marie Corona, a 28-year-old black woman, was fatally shot on Tuesday, Feb. 5, in the 44000 block of Cedar Avenue in Lancaster, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner records.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies went to a home on Cedar Avenue after their office received a 911 hang-up call regarding a possible gunshot victim at 2:10 a.m., said Lt. Derrick Alfred.

When deputies arrived they found the front door to the house open and several people standing outside waiting, Alfred said.

The deputies found Corona lying on the living room floor, Alfred said. She was pronounced dead at the 2:30 a.m., according to coroner's records. The cause of death was listed as multiple gunshot wounds.

Corona lived a few miles away and investigators don't know why she was at the house on Cedar Avenue, Alfred said ...

Proud business owner shot and killed in Van Nuys

By Leila Miller

Posted Feb. 1, 2019, 12:35 p.m.

As the 22-year-old owner of an auto mechanic shop, Osvaldo Hernandez seemed to be on the cusp of forging his own path into adulthood.

After high school, Hernandez worked at a car dealership with his father, picking up both the financial and mechanical skills of the trade. In 2018, with his father’s encouragement and support, he then invested in his own business, Ozzie’s Mechanic Shop, based in Canoga Park.

“He was a man that was on his way to be successful,” said Javier Hernandez, Osvaldo's father.

Osvaldo Hernandez was shot and killed shortly before 10 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, in the 7300 block of Vista Del Monte Avenue in Van Nuys, according police.

Moments earlier, Hernandez and a friend had been hanging out in the parking lot of the apartment where Hernandez lived with his family. One or more people walked up and shot at ...

Dante Bautista Batimana, 69

Posted Jan. 31, 2019

Dante Bautista Batimana, a 69-year-old male, died Monday, Jan. 28, after being stabbed in Diamond Bar, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Randy Martinez, 21

By Jeanette Marantos

Posted Jan. 31, 2019

Randy Martinez, a 21-year-old Latino, was fatally shot on Saturday, Jan. 26, in the 21700 block of Dolores Street in Carson, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner records.

Martinez had been out walking with a friend on Carson Avenue around noon, and the two appeared to be headed back to the house where they both lived when a vehicle drove up behind them and someone inside opened fire, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Derrick Alfred.

"They'd just been hanging out, visiting some stores," Alfred said. "After he was shot, he ran and collapsed on the sidewalk in front of a church."

Paramedics took Martinez from the front of Harbor Community Church, at 21739 Dolores St., to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:41 p.m., according to coroner's records. The cause of death was listed as a gunshot ...

K'Len Grandberry, 20

By Nicole Santa Cruz

Posted Feb. 7, 2019

K'Len Grandberry, a 20-year-old black man, was shot and killed Saturday, Jan. 26 in the 1500 block of Anaheim Street in Harbor City, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Shortly before 2 p.m., Grandberry was in the courtyard of an apartment complex filming a music video with at least 10 to 15 other people when two people walked up and began shooting, said Los Angeles Police Officer Jeffrey Tiffin.

Grandberry was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Two others were wounded in the shooting but are expected to survive, Tiffin said.

On Feb. 6, police released a video of two people running away from the scene. Detectives also released a photo of a black van in connection with the investigation, and are asking for additional witness information.

Anyone with information on the matter is asked to call (310) 726-7884 or (310) 726-7882. Those who wish ...

Tyrone Tucker Jr., 32

Posted Feb. 11, 2019

Tyrone Tucker Jr., a 32-year-old black male, died Saturday, Jan. 26, after being shot in Hawthorne, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Jaime Hernandez Guzman, 58

Posted Jan. 27, 2019

Jaime Hernandez Guzman, a 58-year-old Latino male, died Friday, Jan. 25, after being stabbed in Pomona, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Hakim Webster, 36

By Jeanette Marantos

Posted Jan. 28, 2019

Hakim Webster, a 36-year-old black man, was fatally shot on Friday, Jan. 25 in the parking lot of the New Holy Trinity Baptist Church, 1919 East Compton Boulevard in Compton, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Webster was attending a funeral for a cousin at the church shortly after 1 p.m., said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Derrick Alfred. The church was full, "standing room only," with about 200 people, some of whom were standing outside, he said.

The deceased was Jakiera Green, 29, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Louisiana on Jan. 8, according to an online fundraiser to bring her body and children back to Southern California.

Green's grandmother was in the middle of her eulogy when a man stood up in the church "and began yelling something disrespectful," Alfred said. "It erupted into pushing, and shoving ...

Mystery surrounds shooting of hardworking 58-year-old Boyle Heights man

By Dorany Pineda

Posted Jan. 24, 2019, 10:17 a.m.

Juan Romero woke up before the sun rose each day.

The 58-year-old would slip quietly into his uniform for his job at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center: black pants and shoes, a white collared shirt with a striped tie and a cherry-colored vest on top.

But on Wednesday Nov. 7, 2018, Romero, who was known for being punctual and hardly ever missing work, didn’t show up to his 6 a.m. shift.

On that overcast morning, Romero was discovered at 5:54 a.m. by a California Highway Patrol officer in a stopped, dark green Toyota Corolla on the Soto Street on-ramp to the 10 Freeway, according to police.

The officer pulled over to check on the car, which was stopped on the left shoulder, and found Romero sitting unresponsive in the driver’s seat with the motor running.

Police said Romero was shot through the driver’s side window ...

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