The Homicide Report

Ari Moran, 17

May 18, 2015

Ari Moran, a 17-year-old Latino, was shot and killed May 12 while riding in a car near the intersection of South Palomares Street and East 6th Street in Pomona, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Moran was riding in the front passenger seat of a car in a parking lot at 440 East 6th Street when the shooting occurred about 5:44 p.m., said Ed Winter, assistant chief of investigations for the coroner's office.

The shooting appeared to stem from a confrontation about a vandalized vehicle which prompted a car chase, Winter said.

During the confrontation, the shooter got out of his truck, pulled out a handgun, then got back into his truck and drove out of the parking lot. Moran got into a car to follow the man.

As Moran's vehicle headed down the street, the man in the truck came back and parked in the same parking …

Anthony Javen Holmes, 28

June 1, 2015

Anthony Javen Holmes, a 28-year-old male, died Tuesday, May 12, after sustaining blunt force trauma in Carson, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Humberto Beto Nava, 31

May 20, 2015

Humberto Nava, a 31-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Monday, May 11, in the 2500 block of Continental Avenue on the border of South El Monte, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

About 5:30 a.m., Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to a call of a gunshot victim in an apartment, according to the department.

When deputies arrived, they found Nava on the floor of his apartment, wounded.

Witnesses told authorities that they heard Nava arguing with another person outside his apartment, then gunshots. Nava ran back into the apartment, where he collapsed.

Nava was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

-- Claudia Mendez Arriaza

Michael Paul Hernandez, 62

Aug. 31, 2015

Michael Paul Hernandez, a 62-year-old Latino male, died Monday, May 11, after sustaining blunt force trauma in Altadena, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Mother's Day for those who have lost children: 'Dealing with it the best way I can'

May 9, 2015, 9:42 p.m.

It's been almost three months since Dorothy Hill's son, 39-year-old Kinshasa Jackson, was shot in Watts.

His body was found on the grass of a neighbor's yard in the early morning hours of Feb. 13, and the killing remains unsolved.

This year, Mother's Day will be a reminder of Jackson's absence. But on Saturday, Hill felt as though she wasn't alone. She attended a brunch for women who know what she's going through, women who have also lost sons and daughters.

Hill said when she got the invitation, she was ecstatic. She brought her daughter, Natasha Jackson, to the event, held at a Culver City hotel.

"It's just sometimes about being around people," Hill said. "It helps to keep your mind off the things that would bother you."

Kathy Wooten, a gang intervention worker in Watts, started the annual Mother's Day brunch in May 2008. That January and March, she lost …

Siria Imelda Portillo-Torres, 36

May 20, 2015

Siria Imelda Portillo Torres, a 36-year-old Latina, was shot and killed Saturday, May 9, in the 1400 block of South Western Avenue in Harvard Heights, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

About 8 p.m., Torres was standing outside Lupillo’s Bar when she was struck by gunfire, said Los Angeles Police Officer Mike Lopez.

Witnesses told police that after Torres was shot, she walked into the bar and collapsed. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:15 p.m., according to coroner’s records.

The gunman is described as a man in his 30s, and police said he may have been trying to shoot at another person.

Anyone with information is asked to call West Bureau homicide detectives at (213) 382-9470. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

-- Matt Hamilton

Terry Lindell Bennett, 58

May 15, 2015

Terry Lindell Bennett, a 58-year-old white male, died Saturday, May 9, after sustaining blunt force trauma in Downtown, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Brian Pleytez, 25

May 15, 2015

Brian Pleytez, a 25-year-old Latino male, died Saturday, May 9, after being shot in North Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Ronald Siazon Bonoan, 44

June 1, 2015

Ronald Siazon Bonoan, a 44-year-old Asian male, died Saturday, May 9, in Carson, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

After two deadlocked juries, third trial begins in 5-year-old's 2010 slaying

May 8, 2015, 7:40 p.m.

Aaron Shannon Jr. could not be contained in his Spider-Man costume. In his Halloween costume, he jumped and evaded imaginary bad guys off his back porch. Family members even wriggled around in his imaginary web.

William Shannon, his grandfather, looked up to acknowledge two men passing in the alley that Oct. 31 in 2010. The men gave him a menacing stare, Shannon said Friday, and within seconds, bullets were flying. Aaron, 5, still wearing his mask, had been shot in the head.

“You may wonder what would cause someone to shoot and kill a 5-year-old," deputy district attorney Sarika Kim said in opening statements Friday during the trial of the man accused of killing Aaron. "He’s not even in a gang.”

Leonard Hall Jr. is facing his third trial after two previous juries deadlocked. Hall is charged with murder and attempted murder. Aaron died the day after being shot. His …

Blacks still top Compton's homicide rolls, despite demographic change

May 8, 2015, 5 a.m.

Since their 13-year-old son, Draysean Earl, was gunned down six years ago in Compton, his parents have paid close attention to the news when someone else is killed.

Each year, they hold a march on May 5, the day of the shooting , and each year it seems that another member of their son's circle has been killed.

In 2013, two were gunned down near a McDonald's. In 2014, two more were killed just outside Compton.

In December, Lontrell Lee Turner, 16, was shot to death in Compton on his way home from church. Lontrell knew friends of Draysean.

"As parents we rack our brains to figure out something to stop it, but how do we stop it?" said Sean Earl, Draysean's father.

In a city where the black population is on the decline — falling to a third of the population, according to 2010 census statistics — blacks …

Gregory Montgomery, 51

May 11, 2015

Gregory Montgomery, a 51-year-old black man, was shot to death Friday, May 8, outside his home in the 200 block of Fanshaw Avenue in Pomona, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Montgomery was standing in front of his house about 10:30 a.m. when two black males, approximately 20 to 30 years old, approached him and began shooting, according to a news release from the Pomona Police Department.

Montgomery's father called 911, according to the coroner's office.

The victim was shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:39 a.m. by paramedics, according to the coroner's office and police.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Pomona Police Department at (909) 620-2085 and refer to case No. 15-050061. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

-- Jeanette Marantos

Update June 5, 2015: Don Nell Parker, also known as Nell …

Peater Kurl Marage, 40

May 27, 2015

Peater Kurl Marage, a 40-year-old Belizean man, was shot and killed Friday, May 8, in the 6600 block of South Madden Avenue in Hyde Park, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

Shortly after 8 p.m., Marage was sitting in his van parked near a relative’s home when a dark-colored sedan drove by and a person inside shot at him, said LAPD Det. Chris Barling.

Marage was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:45 p.m., said Ed Winter, assistant chief of investigations for the coroner’s office.

Police are looking for witnesses.

Anyone with information is asked to call the LAPD's Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (323) 786-5113.Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

-- Nicole Santa Cruz

Larisa Sarkisyan, 50

May 15, 2015

Larisa Sarkisyan, a 50-year-old white female, died Thursday, May 7, after being stabbed in Tujunga, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

Ana Consuelo Moran, 45

May 15, 2015

Ana Consuelo Moran, a 45-year-old Latino female, died Thursday, May 7, after being shot in Westlake, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.

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