The Homicide Report

Anthony Nelson III, 20

Jan. 3, 2017

Anthony Nelson III, a 20-year-old black man, died on Tuesday, Dec. 27, after he was stabbed in the 4900 block of East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in East Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Shortly before 8:30 p.m., Nelson was standing in the parking lot of the Belvedere Skatepark when he was stabbed, said said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Mendoza.

Nelson, a skateboarder who lived in the area, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:14 p.m.

Investigators don’t know why Nelson was in the parking lot, and they haven’t been able to get any suspect information, Mendoza said.

“As soon as it happened, the people around him were like, ‘I’m out of there,’ ” Mendoza said.

Nelson lived nearby and was not a gang member, Mendoza said.

The area is predominately Latino, and local gang members may have mistaken Nelson …

Stephen Leonard Monasmith, 50

Jan. 17, 2017

Stephen Leonard Monasmith, a 50-year-old white male, died Tuesday, Dec. 27, after being shot near East Anaheim Street & North Broad Avenue in Wilmington, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Man pleads guilty to murder in Pasadena triple slaying

Dec. 25, 2016, 10:41 a.m.

A man pleaded guilty on Dec. 22 to murder in the deaths of three people during a 2014 shooting rampage in Pasadena, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

John Izeal Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. Smith was charged in connection with the killings of Maria Teresa Aguiar, 59, Luis Fernando Aguiar, 91, and Jose Hernandez Iribe, 31. He also pleaded guilty to one count of assault on a peace officer.

On July 12, 2014, Smith got into an argument with Maria Aguiar. He then grabbed an assault rifle and shot her and her elderly father, Luis Aguiar. Smith then turned the weapon on neighbors and killed Iribe.

After the shooting, Smith barricaded himself inside a home and called police. He shot at multiple people, including a Pasadena police officer, but nobody was wounded. Smith later surrendered and …

Man sentenced to multiple life terms for four killings at Valley Village restaurant

Dec. 25, 2016, 10:37 a.m.

A man was sentenced Dec. 20 to multiple life terms for the murders of four people at a restaurant in 2010, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Nerses Arthur Galstyan was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole as well as two additional life terms.

Galstyan was found guilty in March of two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter and aggravated mayhem. He was also convicted of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter. Jurors found true the special circumstance that Galstyan committed multiple murders.

On April 3, 2010, Galstyan was involved in a dispute with several people who were attending a memorial service inside the Hot Spot Mediterranean restaurant on Riverside Drive. He left and returned with a gun, firing dozens of rounds at patrons, killing Hayk Yegnanyan, Vardan Tofalyan, Sarkis Karadjian, and Harut Baburyan.

Galstyan fled …

Man sentenced for killing wife and assaulting infant daughter in South Gate

Dec. 25, 2016, 10:36 a.m.

A man was sentenced Dec. 9 to 69 years to life in state prison for fatally stabbing his wife and critically injuring their 5-month-old daughter in April, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

On Nov. 18, a jury found Felton Ladell Humphries Jr. of South Gate guilty of first-degree murder in the killing Alicia Renae Williams, 32. Humphries was also found guilty of assaulting his daughter with a deadly weapon, obstructing a peace officer, and interference with a police animal. Additionally, jurors found true special allegations that Humphries used a knife to commit the crime. He had a previous conviction of assault with a deadly weapon in 2012.

Prosecutors said that on April 3, Humphries attacked his wife, with a knife as she was holding their 5-month-old daughter in their South Gate apartment. During the assault, Humphries also stabbed the child, according to prosecutors.

When Williams’ family went …

Man convicted in 2010 stabbing deaths of girlfriend's grandparents

Dec. 25, 2016, 10:35 a.m.

A man was convicted Dec. 9 of murder in the slaying his then-girlfriend’s grandparents in 2010, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Jurors deliberated for two days before finding Rodolfo Lopez, 26, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for killing Susan Bezner, 64, and Jack Bezner, 71. Jurors also found true a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders. Sophia Cristo, Lopez's girlfriend who was 14 at the time of the killing, was convicted of murder in May 2015.

On Aug. 9, 2010, Lopez and Cristo fatally stabbed her grandparents in their Rosemead home, prosecutors said. The Bezners were found later that day by their sons.

After the killing, Lopez and Cristo fled to to El Paso, Texas, where they were captured.

In January 2017, the two are scheduled to be sentenced. Lopez faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Cristo …

Nickolas Williams Clouse, 33

By Jeanette Marantos

Jan. 3, 2017

Nickolas William Clouse, a 33-year-old white man, was shot and killed Sunday, Dec. 25, in the 10800 block of Redfern Avenue in the Lennox area south of Inglewood, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Residents told investigators they heard multiple gunshots around 9 p.m. and that when they looked outside, they saw Clouse lying in the street, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Troy Ewing.

Clouse, who had been shot, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:46 p.m., according to coroner’s records.

Witnesses said they saw two men running away from the scene but had no further description, Ewing said.

Clouse was affiliated with a gang that claims that residential area, Ewing said, and investigators believe the shooting may be gang-related.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime …

Zhonghua Li, 48

By Jeanette Marantos

Dec. 28, 2016

Zhonghua Li, a 48-year-old Chinese man, died on Saturday, Dec. 24, after he was shot by deputies in the 3400 block of Greenglade Avenue in Pico Rivera, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Deputies were called to Li's residence about 4:45 p.m., according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Jauch.

Family members had called 911 to report that Li had a history of mental illness and was arguing with family members and attacking them with a sharp object, Jauch said.

Li stabbed one of his family members in the hand, Jauch said, but the victim refused treatment. Others in the house included Li’s father, sister and brother-in-law, he said.

When deputies arrived, Li was standing in the street, holding the object in his hand, Jauch said. Li “walked aggressively” toward the deputies, one of whom tried to stop him by shooting him with a bean bag shotgun, Jauch said. …

German Servin, 37

By Jeanette Marantos

Dec. 28, 2016

German Servin, a 37-year-old Latino, was fatally shot Friday, Dec. 23, in the 400 block of Harps Street in San Fernando, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Servin, who lived in Palmdale, was visiting his brother when the shooting occurred at 2:07 p.m. in the backyard of a home in the neighborhood, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Marcelo Quintero.

His younger brother was renting a room in a converted garage behind the house, Quintero said. A woman was also visiting the two men that afternoon, but investigators don’t yet know her relationship to the brothers.

San Fernando Police officers responded to a 911 call from a cellphone regarding someone in medical distress, Quintero said. The woman who called didn't know the address of where she was, so officers had difficulty finding the right location, he said.

Simultaneously the department began receiving 911 calls from other residents in the …

Jose Luis Sanchez, 30

By Jeanette Marantos

Dec. 28, 2016

Jose Luis Sanchez, a 30-year-old Latino, died on Friday, Dec. 23, after he was shot by police officers at the intersection of Esto Avenue and Fieldcrest Street in El Monte, according to Los Angeles County authorities.

Sanchez, who lived in San Bernardino, was driving a mid-sized SUV about 9:35 p.m. when El Monte police officers tried to stop him for a drunken driving investigation near the intersection of Valley Boulevard and Tyler Avenue, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Jauch.

When Sanchez refused to stop, officers gave chase, pursuing him for nearly two miles, to Esto Avenue and Fieldcrest Street, Jauch said. Officers laid down spiked strips to try to stop Sanchez, but "they had no effect," Jauch said.

During the pursuit, Sanchez’s SUV collided with another vehicle at Arden Drive and Valley Boulevard, Jauch said.

The people in the other vehicle were not injured, Jauch said, and Sanchez …

John Patrick Clark, 48

March 30, 2017

John Patrick Clark, a 48-year-old white male, died Friday, Dec. 23, in Pomona, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

Mothers who lose a second child to violence: 'Why him, why us, why me?'

By Nicole Santa Cruz

Dec. 22, 2016, 3 a.m.

After her 15-year-old son was shot and killed nine years ago, Barbara Pritchett-Hughes thought she would never experience such crippling grief again.

But in July, the unthinkable happened. Her oldest son was shot in front of their Watts home.

Pritchett-Hughes rushed to the emergency room at St. Francis Medical Center and saw the faces of her relatives. They were silent.

“Y’all need to tell her,” someone whispered.

Her husband shook his head. “DeAndre didn’t make it,” he said.

The killing propelled Pritchett-Hughes into the ranks of a small, largely hidden group of mothers who have lost more than one child to murder. In a city where violent crime has been rising again after decades of decline, at least two other mothers faced the same wrenching loss that month. Detectives suspect that gang members were responsible for all three killings, but none of the victims belonged to a gang.

The homicides follow a …

Brandon Lamont Douglas, 25

Jan. 9, 2017

Brandon Lamont Douglas, a 25-year-old black man, was shot to death Thursday, Dec. 22, in the 1200 block of North Fair Oaks Avenue in Pasadena, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

For the Record:

1:30 p.m.: April 24, 2017: An earlier version of this report incorrectly identified Brandon Douglas as Latino. He was black.

About 9:50 p.m., Pasadena police responded to a call about gunshots, according to a news release, and found Douglas with several gunshot wounds.

Douglas was taken to a hospital where he died at 10:45 p.m., according to coroner’s records.

Anyone with information is asked to call Pasadena police at (626) 744-4241. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

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

Transient man pleads no contest in killing of AAA driver in Pico Rivera

Dec. 25, 2016, 10:38 a.m.

A man pleaded no contest Dec. 6 in the fatal stabbing a AAA driver who was helping a customer, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Tobias Ruben Cabrera pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in the killing of Raymond Anthony Zabala, 35.

Prosecutors said that on June 2, 2015, Zabala drove to Pico Rivera to jump start a customer’s car. Cabrera, a transient and the estranged son of the AAA customer, walked up to Zabala and asked what was going on before stabbing him with a knife, prosecutors added.

Zabala went to a neighboring home to call for help, but he died at the scene, according to prosecutors.

After the attack, Cabrera got on a bike and fled. On June 5, Cabrera was found by L.A. County sheriff’s deputies.

Cabrera is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 31; he faces at least 20 years in prison.

Contact the Homicide …

Khachik Surmabukhian, 65

Jan. 3, 2017

Khachik Surmabukhian, a 65-year-old white male, died Wednesday, Dec. 21, after sustaining blunt force trauma in Northridge, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

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