Angel Javier Rodarte, 20
Angel Javier Rodarte, a 20-year-old Latino, was pronounced dead on Tuesday, Nov. 12, after he was shot near Walnut Avenue and Doublegrove Street in Valinda, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Rodarte had just bicycled back from a convenience store near his home around 9 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, and was standing in his front yard when a white or light-gray compact SUV pulled up and someone began shooting from the driver's side window, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Brandon Dean.
The car sped away, east on Doublegrove Street, and Rodarte collapsed, Dean said. A friend drove him to a nearby hospital and he was transferred to another hospital with a trauma center.
Rodarte was pronounced dead early the next morning at 12:25 a.m., according to coroner's records. The cause of death was listed as a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Investigators believe the shooter may have …
Jose Martin Alcaraz, 32
Jeanita Ann Griego, 60
Ezekiel James Griego, 18
Socorro Senen Munoz, 28
Socorro Senen Munoz, a 28-year-old Latina, was stabbed to death Monday, Feb. 6, in the 16300 block of Doublegrove Street in Valinda, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Munoz was found unconscious inside her home about 8:34 p.m. after a neighbor noticed that her front door was open, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Mendoza.
The neighbor called 911, but paramedics were unable to revive Munoz. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:53 p.m. She had multiple stab wounds and blunt force injuries, according to coroner’s records.
Investigators learned that Munoz was married, “but her husband was nowhere to be seen,” Mendoza said. Deputies found her husband, Ricky Ramos, standing near his parked car in the 15500 block of Amar Road, about 3 miles east of his residence.
Ramos, a 32-year-old Latino, was arrested and on Feb. 9 was charged with murder, according to Los Angeles …
Randolph John Morales, 51
Randolph John Morales, a 51-year-old Latino, died Monday after he was struck and dragged by a car in the 500 block of North Azusa Avenue in Valinda, near La Puente, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Morales and his girlfriend, Sharon Kay Hood, 52, were staying at the Azusa Inn and got into an argument about 2:24 a.m., said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Eddie Hernandez.
Hood decided to leave and went to her car with a family member who had also been in the room, Hernandez said.
Investigators have conflicting information about what happened next, Hernandez said, but witnesses said Morales ran out of the room and stood behind the car to try to prevent Hood from leaving.
Hood allegedly accelerated and backed over Morales, dragging him several feet, Hernandez said.
Morales was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:35 a.m., according to coroner’s records.
Hood was arrested …
Raul Garcia Prieto, 22
Raul Garcia Prieto, a 22-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Monday, Dec. 21, in the 1200 block of North Cedon Drive in Valinda, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Investigators were called to a residence regarding a shooting at 7:57 p.m., but were able to collect few details about what transpired, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Eddie Hernandez.
Prieto was visiting the house at the time of the shooting and apparently got into a fight with someone else at the house, Hernandez said. The other person, described only as a Latino, shot Prieto and then left before investigators arrived.
People in the house “appear to have been involved in some kind of narcotics activity, based on the paraphernalia found at the scene,” Hernandez said.
Prieto was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:42 p.m.
Anyone with information is asked to call the …
Johnny Angel Rangel, 25
Johnny Angel Rangel, a 25-year-old Latino, was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy Friday, Oct. 16, in the 800 block of Ashcomb Drive in La Puente, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
The incident began about 1 a.m., when patrol deputies spotted Rangel walking at the corner of Amar Road and South Azusa Avenue in West Covina, just east of La Puente, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Det. Louis Aguilera.
Rangel allegedly made eye contact with the deputies and then ran across the street to try to talk to people standing outside a McDonald's restaurant, Aguilera said.
The deputies suspected Rangel was a gang member, based on his tattoos and attire, and thought his behavior was suspicious, Aguilera said. They later learned the people Rangel had run toward didn't know him. As the deputies approached Rangel in their patrol car, he allegedly dropped a folding knife on the …
Maria Delrefugio Chavez, 40
A Santeria spiritual leader who performed healing rituals at a Montebello business was named Tuesday as the suspect in the disappearance and killing of a woman six years ago.
Maria Delrefugio Chavez’s skeletal remains were found Aug. 7, buried behind a house in the 700 block of Elsberry Avenue in unincorporated Valinda in the San Gabriel Valley. The El Monte woman had been missing since 2009. (The L.A. County Sheriff's Department has placed a so-called security hold on the case, so authorities are withholding some information. Because of that, the Homicide Report is using the date Chavez's remains were found as her death date.)
Sheriff’s detectives said they believe Pablo Pinto Mata, 46, killed Chavez.
Chavez got to know Mata when she patronized Los Angeles Import, a botanica he owned in the 2400 block of Whittier Boulevard, Sheriff’s Department Lt. Vic Lewandowski said.
Mata acted as Chavez’s spiritualist, and though …
Melisa Solerto, 23
Melisa Solerto, a 23-year-old Latina, died Monday, May 2, two hours after she was shot in the 15000 block of Alwood Street in Valinda, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
[Editor's note: An earlier version of this post, based on information from the coroner's office, incorrectly named the victim as Elisa Solerto. Additionally, the post did not have an incident address.]
Ed Winter, spokesman for the coroner's office, said Solerto was sitting in a parked car with a male on May 1 about 11:40 p.m. when two assailants ran up and shot at the vehicle.
Solerto and the male were hit, Winter said. Paramedics were called and Solerto was taken to a hospital where she died at 1:41 a.m.
Winter said the condition of the male with Solerto is unknown.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the L.A. County sheriff's homicide bureau at …
Hugo Pineda Hidalgo, 24
Hugo Hidalgo, a 24-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Sunday, March 27, in the 17200 block of Glenhope Drive in Valinda, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Hidalgo, who is from La Puente, was at a house party about 12:09 a.m. when a verbal altercation occurred in the backyard, said Ed Winter, spokesman for the coroner's office.
Two assailants began shooting and Hidalgo was hit several times in the abdomen and back, coroner's records show.
It was unclear if Hidalgo was involved in the fight.
He was taken to County-USC Medical Center where he died at 2:21 a.m., Winter said.
Authorities believe that the shooting may have been gang-related.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500. Tipsters who'd like to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (800-222-8477).
-- Los Angeles Times
Steven Valadez, 19
Steven Valadez, a 19-year-old Latino, was stabbed to death Sunday, Oct. 18, in the 16200 block of Maplegrove Street in Valinda, authorities said.
Valadez, a musician, was attacked about 12:13 a.m. during “a fight with several other males," according to a statement from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. He was taken to a hospital where he died about 5:15 a.m, authorities said.
Valadez was a member of the La Puente-based band Rumor Has It, which memorialized him on its MySpace page and linked to an article about the incident in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
“To those of you who don't already know, or weren't with us last night. Tragedy struck us hard. Our bass player and brother Steven, was killed last night in an ugly brawl in our hometown,” the message read. “To call Steven a 'friend' would be a total understatement of what he meant to us.” …
David Estrada Sua, 37
David Sua, a 37-year-old Latino, was shot in the chest and died Thursday, Aug. 13 at Rimgrove Drive and Samgerry Drive in unincorporated Los Angeles County, according to Los Angeles County coroner's officials.
The incident, which police are calling a murder-suicide, was reported about 8:33 p.m.Sua was driving to dinner with his family when a man threw a beer can at their car, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators said. When Sua climbed out of the car and confronted the man, an argument erupted and the man pulled a handgun and shot Sua, then turned the gun on himself, investigators said.
Both men were pronounced dead at the scene by fire paramedics. The name of the gunman was not released, pending notification of his family, said Ed Winter, spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.
-- Ruben Vives
Carlos Yanez, 18
Carlos Yanez, an 18-year-old Latino, was shot several times and died June 18 in the 1400 block of Griffith Avenue in unincorporated Los Angeles County, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
Yanez walked out of his home, a car pulled up, and someone inside fired several shots at him, said Craig Harvey, chief coroner investigator and chief of operations for the coroner's office.
Yanez was shot in the back and the arm about 8:30 p.m. and he was pronounced dead about 15 minutes later, Harvey said.