Dispatch: 'Newton homicide, high stakes, low publicity'

Walter Hernandez, 23, a Latino man, was shot and killed at 1540 E. 42nd Street in LAPD's Newton Division just south of downtown L.A. on Monday, Sept. 10, at 5:20 p.m.

It was broad daylight, in a crowded neighborhood. The suspects drove up, and one got out and chased Hernandez down. He was taken to County-USC hospital, where he died.

Hernandez was a gang member--in trouble with the police, but well-liked and well-respected within a large and active Newton gang, according to Newton Det. Dennis Fanning.

Why does this matter? Because it makes it more likely that Hernandez's friends will seek revenge. One death like this can swiftly become many. "Someone needs to find a way to stop it before another person gets killed, and then there is retaliation for that killing, and more and more and more," Fanning said.

Once such a cycle of street justice gets rolling, "The bullets have no eyes," he added. Non-combatants are often killed. Newton has already seen it's share of such shootings this year.

Hernandez's death offers little in the way of a heart-tugging narrative or a novelty hook, and has garnered little publicity. Yet the stakes are high, measured in potential lives lost and public costs.

And down in Newton precinct, where a scant crew of eight detectives are grappling with 39 other killings so far this year, they are bracing for the fallout. Police are trying to get the word out that tips in this case--even anonymous ones--could help avert a bloody cycle.

Fanning and his partner, Spanish-speaking Det. Miguel Terrazas, are at (323) 846-6556.

(Photo: Right, Coronas, rosaries and the Madonna at Hernandez's street shrine.)