Dispute among neighbors turns deadly in Sun Valley

Nov. 6, 2013, 8:19 a.m.

In a group of shacks behind a house on Beck Avenue in Sun Valley, a dispute among neighbors was brewing. Norberto Correa thought someone had been peeping into his window. He told a neighbor that he thought it was Jessie Ochoa, who lived in one of the shacks.

"He said that he was going to do something about it," said the neighbor, who testified in a preliminary hearing Oct. 17 about what he saw. He said Correa showed him his gun. "And I'm like, 'Don't do anything.' "

On Sept. 15, Jessie Ochoa woke up, drank some beer and headed out with the neighbor to get tacos. They worked construction together.

Upon returning to their shacks, Ochoa told the neighbor he was going to confront Correa over the peeping allegations.

Ochoa knocked on Correa’s door and told him to come outside. Ochoa cursed and told Correa that he didn't care if he brought his "little gun," the neighbor said in court.

He testified that he couldn't see Ochoa but could hear him shouting. And then he heard something else: a gunshot.

He walked over and found a dazed Ochoa bleeding from a wound in his cheek.

He allegedly saw Correa shoot Ochoa again, and Ochoa fell. Ochoa was pronounced dead at a hospital at 2:53 p.m. with gunshot wounds to the head and neck, according to L.A. County coroner’s records. Correa was arrested the next day.

Correa, 54, who is being held on $2.075-million bail, is accused of using a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun to kill Ochoa, according to court records.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed an immigration detainer on him after he was arrested and fingerprinted, according to a statement from ICE.

Department of Homeland Security records show that Correa has been repatriated to Mexico at least seven times since 1999, most recently in 2011. He also has at least one prior felony conviction resulting from a drug violation in 1989.

Correa pleaded not guilty to murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm at an arraignment on Oct. 29.

A pretrial conference is set for Nov. 19 at the Van Nuys courthouse.

— Jon Schleuss

10 reader comments

To Christine and Nancy,
There are two sides to every story. I worked with someone who was very nice, engaging, would go out of his way to offer help or to be an ear to vent with. Then an apartment became available one floor up from his and I needed it. I moved in not knowing that he lived there. My placed ended up being right on top of his. He was still this wonderful person to me, but the longer I lived there the more I got to see. When he did drink he became this nasty drunk. He was mean hard to deal with even harder to live near. I was going to school and saving up money by living in a cheaper apartment but I could only last living there near him for 2 months before I had enough. The point is...we never know what type of personality lays just beneath the surface. I am glad you had good experiences with this man, but that does not mean that others had the same experiences. Even his wife comes across as not so nice....in one of her post she states that the other neighbors should have just moved. She was the one living in an ilegal dwelling and she has the nerve to say just move? Let's not forget that the testimony has been that Ochoa went over to confront someone. Why did the wife allow her husband to take the law into his own hands and cross over on to property that he did not belong on? There are not enough facts here but so far Ochoa lived in a shack...he could have moved, he could have not gone over there looking for a fight.

— Carole Nov. 23, 2013 at 8:07 p.m.

Editor's note: This letter was sent to The Homicide Report. The senders asked that I post it as a comment on this report in their names. --MB

To whom it may concern;

We have worked with Jessie Ochoa on a part time basis over the past ten years. He was part of our landscape installation team. During that time he was a hard worker, happy, friendly with the crew and good with the clients. He arrived at the job sites on time and put in full days of hard manual labor. We never saw him angry with anyone or upset. He was always willing to take on any task and was cheerful.

He had a great sense of humor and he made the day enjoyable. The last time we worked with him was about three weeks before he was murdered.

He was happy and looking forward to a future with his children. He was concerned about his son and wanted to help guide him in the right direction. He will be greatly missed as a team member of our landscape crew. He was a nice guy, hard worker and a friend.

Christine and Nancy

— Matt Ballinger, Los Angeles Times Nov. 23, 2013 at 1:11 p.m.

The Homicide Report

Dispute among neighbors turns deadly in Sun Valley

Post a comment

10 reader comments