Autumn Johnson, the Compton girl who was shot and killed in her crib, is laid to rest
Before the Saturday morning service, mourners slowly made their way up to the small lavender casket inside Judson Baptist Church in Carson.
There lay 1-year-old Autumn Johnson in a purple ruffled dress, white shoes and a pearl necklace. As tearful men and women walked away, some shook their heads in disbelief. Autumn was killed Feb. 9 when a bullet struck her as she lay in her crib at her family’s home in Compton that had been targeted by gunmen. The assailants remain at large.
FOR THE RECORD
Feb. 22, 2:40 p.m.: A caption on an earlier version of this article misidentified Everleane Mayfield as Autumn Johnson's great-great-great aunt. Mayfield is Autumn's great-great aunt. The article also previously said dancers were hired for the service; they were relatives of Autumn.
A woman held onto the child’s casket and cried, “Why did she go?”
The child’s father, Darrell Johnson, lifted up the …
Kisha Shelly Michael, 31
Kisha Shelly Michael, a 31-year-old black woman, was fatally shot by Inglewood police Sunday, Feb. 21, near South Inglewood Avenue and West Manchester Boulevard in Inglewood, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Officers said they received a call early Sunday morning of a suspicious vehicle stopped near West Manchester Boulevard and South Inglewood Avenue. When they approached the car, they noticed the woman in the car had a gun and ordered her and a man out of the vehicle, said Scott Collins, a spokesman for the Inglewood Police Department.
Officers then took cover and opened fire, killing Michael and a 32-year-old man, Marquintan Randell Sandlin. No officers were injured.
Collins would not say whether the pair had refused to exit the vehicle or if the woman fired or pointed the gun at police officers.
Michael was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:11 a.m.
Kevin Magdaleno, 22
Kevin Magdaleno, a 22-year-old Latino, was found dead Sunday, Feb. 21 in the 500 block of East 31st Street in Historic South-Central, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
A person who lives in the area found Magdaleno in a gutter about 8 a.m., said LAPD Det. Richard Arciniega said. Police responded, conducted interviews and determined that dozens of people attended a party in the area the previous night, he said.
Outside the gathering, Magdaleno was shot. Police are still trying to determine the motive.
Magdaleno was pronounced dead at 8:10 a.m., according to coroner’s records.
Anyone with information is asked to call Newton homicide detectives at (323) 846-6556. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.
Marquintan Randell Sandlin, 32
Marquintan Randell Sandlin, a 32-year-old black man, was fatally shot by Inglewood police Sunday, Feb. 21, near South Inglewood Avenue and West Manchester Boulevard in Inglewood, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Officers said they received a call early Sunday morning of a suspicious vehicle stopped near the intersection. When they approached the car, they noticed the woman in the car had a gun and ordered her and the man, Sandlin, out of the vehicle, said Scott Collins, a spokesman for the Inglewood Police Department.
Officers then took cover and opened fire, striking Sandlin and a 31-year-old woman, Kisha Shelly Michael. No officers were injured.
Sandlin was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:38 a.m., according to coroner’s records. The woman died at the scene.
Collins would not say whether the pair had refused to exit the vehicle or if the woman fired …
Everardo Cortez, 42
Everardo Cortez, a 42-year-old Latino, was fatally shot Saturday, Feb. 20, in the 1100 block of South Garrey Street in San Pedro, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Cortez got into an argument with a person in another vehicle about 2:15 a.m., according to coroner’s records. The vehicle then turned around and a person inside opened fire.
Cortez was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:46 a.m., according to coroner’s records.
An off-duty LAPD officer driving a personal vehicle nearby witnessed the shooting and as he called 911, he followed the suspect’s vehicle, said LAPD Officer Mike Lopez.
The officer described the vehicle as a dark-colored SUV, possibly a Ford Explorer, Lopez said.
The SUV stopped about a mile away, near the intersection of West Santa Cruz Street and North Cabrillo Avenue, and the suspect opened fire at the officer.
The officer returned fire, and the SUV sped west …
Giovanni Edward Lyiscott, 18
Giovanni Lyiscott, an 18-year-old black man, died Saturday, Feb. 20, after he was shot in the 17400 block of Prondall Court in Carson, according to authorities.
His father, Anderson Edward Lyiscott, 53, was charged with one count of murder in the case, with the special allegation that he personally and intentionally discharged a handgun that caused great bodily injury and death, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Giovanni had recently resumed living at home with his parents and his sibling, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Dave Coleman.
The evening he was shot, Giovanni was home alone with his girlfriend and his father, Coleman said. Around 6:15 p.m., Giovanni got into an argument with his father that resulted in the son going upstairs to his bedroom and slamming and locking the door, Coleman said.
The father then went up to the room with …
Omar Ruben Norato, 23
Omar Ruben Norato, a 23-year-old Latino, was fatally stabbed Saturday, Feb. 20, in the 3000 block of Griffith Park Boulevard in Los Feliz, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
About 6:55 p.m., Los Angeles police officers from the Northeast Division were flagged down by a man trying to get help for a person with a stab wound, according to a news release from the LAPD. When officers arrived they found Norato in the back seat of his vehicle with a stab wound.
Officers also saw a Latino with a cut to his left hand. Norato was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:47 p.m., according to coroner’s records.
Moments earlier, Norato and the other victim had gotten into an argument with two others in another car, investigators later learned.
Two 22-year-olds -- a man and a woman -- were arrested on suspicion of murder March …
Man sentenced to 56 years to life in fatal stabbing of 11-year-old
A man was sentenced this month to 56 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing his girlfriend’s 11-year-old son, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Rineson Curtis Adams, a 29-year-old black man, was sentenced Feb. 11 in the killing of Jai Shaun Lewis in a Westlake apartment.
For the Record
March 1, 7:40 p.m.: This article incorrectly states that Adams had felony convictions in 1996. They were in 2006.
A jury in January found Adams guilty of one count of murder and one count of child abuse for stabbing Lewis in front of his 5-year-old brother. Adams was also found sane at the time of murder.
On May 27, 2013, police were called to an apartment complex and found Lewis with stab wounds. Neighbors saw him wheeled out on a stretcher.
Adams was found on the front lawn with stab wounds to his shoulder, police said. …
Man sentenced to 4 years in prison in killing of woman in front of police officer
A man was sentenced Feb. 8 to four years in state prison for his involvement in the killing last year of a woman in front of a Hawthorne police officer, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
Stanley White, a 25-year-old black man, pleaded no contest Jan. 28 to assault with a firearm as part of a negotiated deal in the killing of Denise Berry, 44, according to prosecutors.
On April 1, 2015, White was driving a Cadillac sedan with his uncle Robert Washington, 38, and another man, according to a spokesman from the district attorney’s office.
About 12:30 p.m., White stopped at an intersection in Hawthorne alongside Berry’s gray Mercedes. She was driving with her 12-year-old son to a barbershop, said Lt. Dave Coleman with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Berry’s son then pointed at Washington’s feet hanging out the Cadillac’s passenger window. The …
Dewayne Bernard Christian, 43
Dewayne Bernard Christian, a 43-year-old black man, died Friday, Feb. 19, after he was shot in the 14500 block of South Cairn Avenue in West Compton, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Christian was driving home about 11 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18, heading north on a narrow residential street, when he was shot multiple times, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Mendoza.
The gunshots hit Christian in the upper torso. His dark-colored, four-door sedan continued north on Cairns “for a very short distance,” Mendoza said, before striking a parked vehicle about a block from his home.
Christian was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:50 a.m. on Feb. 19, according to coroner’s records.
Neighbors told investigators they heard shots and then spotted a light-colored sedan speeding north on Cairn Avenue, Mendoza said. Investigators don’t know if the sedan was involved in the …
Man charged with fatal stabbing of man found inside RV in Long Beach
A 33-year-old man has been charged with fatally stabbing another man who was found inside a motor home in December, authorities said.
Justin Michael St. George was charged Feb. 16 with one count of murder with the allegation that he used a knife, according to the criminal complaint from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. St. George is a white man, according to online records from the Sheriff's Department.
For the Record
Feb. 22, 9:15 p.m.: A previous version of this article identified St. George as a black man. He is a white man.
Police said the investigation is ongoing but said detectives arrested St. George Feb. 10 in Cypress, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
On Dec. 6, police found Gary Edmond Rice, 62, dead inside an RV in Long Beach.
St. George is due back in court March 1, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s …
Darren Eugene Little, 43
Darren Eugene Little, a 43-year-old black man, died Thursday, Feb. 18, after he was shot in the 1700 block of North Las Palmas Avenue in Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
About 11:15 p.m. on Feb. 17, two men got into a fight over money outside the Rusty Mullet, a bar off Las Palmas Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard, said LAPD Lt. John Radtke. Radtke would not say how much money the men were fighting over.
At one point, one of the men pulled a knife and stabbed Little. Little was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“They were definitely acquaintances,” Radtke said.
The assailant then entered a nearby nightclub, threw away the knife and ran east on Hollywood Boulevard. Police on foot patrol detained a man near Wilcox Avenue, about three blocks away.
The 31-year-old black man was booked on suspicion of murder and released …
Francisco Javier Salazar Jr., 15
Francisco Javier Salazar, a 15-year-old Latino, was found dead Wednesday, Feb. 17, after he was shot in the 2100 block of Long Beach Boulevard in Compton, according to Los Angeles County coroners records.
Salazar’s body was discovered at 12:02 a.m. when a patrol deputy went to investigate a 1993 grey Nissan Sentra that was parked in a long driveway, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Jauch.
The boy, who was found alone in the front passenger seat, had a gunshot wound to the neck, according to coroner's records. There was broken glass around the car, Jauch said, but investigators aren’t sure whether he was shot from inside or outside.
There’s no indication the car was stolen, Jauch said, but he wouldn’t say who owned the car.
The area where Salazar was found is commercial, surrounded by boarded-up businesses and a few small shops. No one reported hearing gunshots in …
Ronald Martin, 27
Ronald Martin, a 27-year-old black man, was shot and killed Wednesday Feb. 17, in the 8600 block of South Van Ness Boulevard in Inglewood, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Det. Jack Aranda with the Inglewood Police Department said that about 8 p.m. a suspect walked up and shot Martin, who was in a vehicle with friends. Officers arrived, and Martin was taken to a hospital.
He was pronounced dead at 8:43 p.m., according to coroner's records.
Detectives have not made any arrests and are pursuing all leads, Aranda said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Inglewood Police Homicide Unit at (310) 412-5246. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @jeromercampbell and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.