The Times' Paresh Dave wrote last week about Rodney Paul Craig, 56, a homeless man and former professional baseball player who was killed during a fight in downtown Los Angeles. Craig's story struck a chord with readers in two places on Homicide Report: Dave's article and a previous post reporting the news of his death. Readers weighed in on homelessness, its causes and its effects on society.

Here's commenter Mark on Oct. 25:

Hard to say exactly what went wrong with Mr. Craig's life. I didn't have the pleasure to make his acquaintance. At one point he had a life that held great potential.

He had the opportunity to live a life that most American boys can only dream of, even if just for a short time.

I'm very sorry to hear that his life ended under such tragic circumstances. I've been a baseball fan most of my …

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Two suspected gang members were charged Monday with murder in connection with the slaying of a father who was responding to a Craigslist ad for a cellphone for his son, Los Angeles law enforcement authorities said.

Ryan Roth, 17, and Markell Thomas, 18, were arrested late last week after detectives connected the killing with similar robberies in the area, Police Det. Chris Barling said.

In addition to the murder charges, they were both charged with attempted murder, along with two counts each of second-degree robbery with gang enhancements, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Roth, a minor, was charged as an adult.

Police said Thomas and Roth communicated with Rene Balbuena, 41, and his 15-year-old son via text message Oct. 19 about buying a $300 Samsung Galaxy cellphone. When Balbuena arrived in the 9200 block of South Gramercy Place about 7:30 p.m. with his son to buy …

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This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

The last time Roxanne Fizer saw her son, she handed him his paycheck and he got back into the passenger seat of a black pickup truck. She didn't know the driver but registered his face.

Two hours later on July 29, 2011, Joseph Lewis, 22, was found dead. His body, with multiple upper-body gunshot wounds, was discovered by hikers on a trail in Rancho Palos Verdes, up the hill from San Pedro, the port neighborhood where Fizer raised him.

Five days later, Fizer was presented with a police lineup and immediately recognized one person as the man from the truck. "I looked dead right into his face," Fizer said.

Michael Muns, 25, was charged with murder and is being held on $2 million bail. He is due in Torrance Superior Court on Dec. 10 for a pretrial …

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"That's where they found him lying," Jasmond White said as he pointed to a spot under a light pole across from his apartment in the 5400 block of West 99th Place in Westchester.

Early on Oct. 14, 2007, Devon Curry, 18, was fatally wounded in a shooting here. He died the same day at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

White heard the single gunshot around 4 a.m. He wasn't scared.

"I'm from L.A. Shootings happen so much out here," said White, 33.

But the violence tends to happen in specific areas. White grew up in South L.A.’s Westmont neighborhood, where 83 of the 96 homicides since 2007 involved a gun. But about five miles west in Westchester, slayings are rare. Since 2007, there have been eight, seven of which were shootings. One of those — the only homicide in Westchester in 2007 — left Devon Curry dead.

Before the shooting, Curry was …

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Two men have been charged with murder and are due in court in December in connection with the Aug. 17 stabbing death of Rodney Paul Craig, 56, a homeless man and former professional baseball player who was killed during a fight in downtown Los Angeles.

A judge on Wednesday delayed until Dec. 5 a decision on a preliminary hearing for Anthony Solomon Johnson, 23, and Billy Akai Morales, 32. If convicted, Morales faces a longer sentence because of a felony robbery conviction in New York in 2001.

The fight began when Craig set up camp and apparently encroached upon the territory of a transient group, Los Angeles Police Det. Al Marengo said. They demanded Craig move. As he walked away he attempted to kick a dog belonging to someone in the group, sparking a fight that left him dead.

Early in the case, police sought a third suspect, but …

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