Dorian Ascensio
Dorian Ascensio, a Latino male, died Friday, Sept. 5, after being shot in South El Monte, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Police searching for witnesses in five killings over Labor Day weekend
Los Angeles police detectives are looking for witnesses in five killings after a spate of shootings over the weekend in South L.A.
The LAPD has deployed extra resources in the impacted neighborhoods in an effort to prevent more shootings, said Deputy Chief Bob Green, who oversees the South Bureau.
"I need to provide a sense of calm in the community," Green said.
None of the killings appear to be related.
The violence started about 2:45 a.m. Sunday.
Michael White, a 30-year-old man, was standing in the back parking area of an apartment complex in the 5400 block of South Western Avenue in Vermont Square when at least two men walked up to a gate leading to the alley and shot him, police said.
Monday was deadlier.
Detectives got a call of a shooting about 2 p.m. in the parking lot of the dinosaur-themed Green Forest Car Wash in Vermont-Slauson. Two …
Man convicted of drunkenly stabbing, shooting wife of 18 years
A 42-year-old man was found guilty Tuesday of shooting and stabbing his wife of 18 years, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
After less than two hours of deliberations, a jury convicted Kevin Adonis Forrest, a white man, of first degree murder. Jurors also found gun and weapon allegations true.
Prosecutors said on Feb. 27, 2013, Forrest fatally shot and stabbed his wife, Kathleen Ann Forrest, 59. Forrest then tried to dismember her but was unsuccessful.
During the trial, Kevin Forrest testified that his wife had been verbally abusive to him. He said he was drunk that day and did not remember killing her or trying to dismember her. Four days after the killing, he called police and said he killed his wife, according to prosecutors.
Police went to the home and found the woman’s body. They also found photos taken by Kevin Forrest of the …
Reward offered in shooting death of Long Beach man
Los Angeles County supervisors have issued a $10,000 reward for information in the shooting of a 25-year-old Long Beach man who is believed to be the victim of mistaken identity.
Olataga P. Filemoni Jr. was standing outside his home about 11 p.m. on July 25 when he was shot, said Long Beach Police Det. Mark McGuire. Filemoni was talking with two friends in the 3200 block of Baltic Avenue when a small compact car they did not recognize stopped in front of the home, detectives said.
A person inside the car yelled a gang phrase, and Filemoni and his friends turned around to go inside the home. That's when someone began shooting.
“Our victims are not gang members,” McGuire said. “We suspect that the suspects are.”
McGuire described Filemoni as a “hardworking, Christian young man.”
He says he hopes the reward, issued in late August, will prompt anyone with information …
Gabriel Rivera, 33
Man sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for killing outside Hollywood nightclub
A man who shot a 19-year-old in the back of the head outside a Hollywood nightclub in 2013 was sentenced Tuesday to 50 years to life in prison, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Robert Earl Thomas III, a 23-year-old black man, was found guilty in July of first-degree murder with gang and weapons allegations.
According to testimony, a man claiming to be a Carver Park gang member approached Andre Lowe, 19, and his friends outside the Empire Club about 2 a.m. on Jan. 13, 2013. The man asked what gang the group was from and someone in Lowe’s group said they don’t gang-bang, according to prosecutors.
The man and others began assaulting the group. During the fight, Thomas walked up to Lowe and shot him twice in the back of the head, prosecutors said.
While trying to leave, Thomas ran over Lowe’s body. The shooting …
Irvin Steven Garcia, 23
Irvin Steven Garcia, a 23-year-old Latino, was fatally shot Tuesday, Sept. 2, in the 1200 block of Menlo Avenue in Pico-Union, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Officers responded to a call of a possible suicide and found Garcia suffering from a gunshot wound, said LAPD Det. Armando Acero.
He was pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m. at a hospital, according to coroner’s records.
Detectives ruled out the possibility of a suicide and arrested Garcia’s common law wife, Janet Ivonne Ramirez, a 24-year-old Latina, on suspicion of murder.
Acero declined to provide more information about the case.
Ramirez has been charged with one count of murder with a special allegation that she used a gun. Her bail has been set at $2 million, Jane Robison, a public information officer with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, said in an e-mail.
Ramirez is due in court Sept. 18 for an …
Brittney Gene Barnett, 25
Brittney Gene Barnett, a 25-year-old black woman, was shot and killed Monday, Sept. 1, in the 3100 block of 9th Avenue in Jefferson Park, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
About 9 p.m., Barnett and a 30-year-old man were standing near an alley when a person got out of a light-colored SUV and began shooting, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Barnett was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:27 p.m. The 30-year-old man was wounded but is expected to survive.
Barnett’s father said he was notified of his daughter’s death by her 11-year-old son, who came to his home Monday night.
“I think my mom is dead,” he told his grandfather, Eugene Barnett.
Brittney, a single mother, leaves behind two other children, 1 and 7.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (213) 485-4341. Those who wish …
James Jay Smith, 20
James Jay Smith, a 20-year-old black man, was shot and killed Monday, Sept. 1, near West Adams Boulevard and South Dalton Avenue in Adams-Normandie, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Smith and a 17-year-old were standing at an intersection when a person walked up to the two and began shooting, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
Smith was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital. The 17-year-old was wounded but expected to survive.
The gunman and another man, described by police as two male blacks, fled in a light-colored vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (213) 485-4341. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
Lamont Thomas Jones, 30
Lamont Thomas Jones, a 30-year-old black man, was shot and killed Monday, Sept. 1, in the 900 block of West Florence Avenue in Vermont-Slauson, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
About 2:10 p.m., Los Angeles police officers responded to a call of a shooting at the Green Forest Car Wash, said LAPD Lt. Jeff Nolte. According to witnesses, two groups of people engaged in an argument piled out of two cars in the dinosaur-themed carwash parking lot, Notle said.
During the argument, a man pulled out a gun and shot Jones and Mario King, 26, who had been traveling in the same vehicle. The gunman and the people he was with then fled in a dark-colored SUV.
“It was total chaos because people were in their cars,” Nolte said.
Jones was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:27 p.m., said Ed Winter, assistant chief of …
Mario Deandra King, 26
Mario Deandra King, a 26-year-old black man, was shot and killed Monday, Sept. 1, in the 900 block of West Florence Avenue in Vermont-Slauson, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
About 2:10 p.m., Los Angeles police officers responded to a call of a shooting at the Green Forest Car Wash, said LAPD Lt. Jeff Nolte. According to witnesses, two groups of people engaged in an argument piled out of two cars in the dinosaur-themed carwash parking lot, Nolte said.
During the argument, a man pulled out a gun and shot King and Lamont Thomas Jones, 30, who had been traveling in the same vehicle.
The gunman and the people he was with then fled in a dark-colored SUV.
“It was total chaos because people were in their cars,” Nolte said.
King was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:34 p.m., said Ed Winter, assistant chief …
Michael Allen White, 30
Michael Allen White, a 30-year-old black man, was shot and killed Sunday, Aug. 31, in the 5400 block of South Western Avenue in Vermont Square, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Shortly before 2:45 a.m., White was standing in the back parking area of an apartment complex with other people when at least two black men walked up to him and one person fired multiple gunshots, said LAPD Det. Sal LaBarbera.
The men ran away, LaBarbera said. White was pronounced dead at 2:55 a.m. at the scene, said Ed Winter, the assistant chief of investigations for the coroner’s office.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (213) 485-4341. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
Edgar Lopez, 13
Jonathan Rojas, 34
Jonathan Rojas, a 34-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Saturday, Aug. 30, in the 8000 block of Washington Avenue in Whittier, according to police and Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Shortly after 12 p.m., Rojas was taking out the trash in front of his home when a car with two men and a juvenile believed to be from the Pico Nuevo criminal street gang pulled up.
A man got out of the car, walked up to Rojas and asked him what gang he was from, then fired a revolver, striking him several times, according to a statement from the Whittier Police Department.
According to witnesses, Rojas said he was not from a gang. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:54 p.m.
The alleged shooter, later identified as Anthony Michael Delci, a 30-year-old Latino, got back into the car, allegedly driven by Victor Marcus …