Ruben Benjamin Whittington, 61

Ruben Whittington, 62, a black man, was shot in the chest in the 300 block of South Lemon Avenue in Walnut last night, Sunday, July 29, at about 11:25 p.m.

Whittington, a retired LAPD patrol sergeant, had worked late on paperwork for a handyman business he had started. He was going home when his car had a flat tire, said sheriff's homicide Det. Kevin Lowe. In the 10 minutes between his phone call to AAA and the arrival of a tow truck, someone shot Whittington in the chest, possibly in the course of a botched robbery.

Whittington retired as a sergeant from the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division in 1995 after 20 years on the job. He became a teacher, then started his own business. Before joining the LAPD, he had worked for a Pennsylvania law enforcement agency. He was also a veteran of the Vietnam War, Lowe said.

Lowe appealed for information to help solve this case. He asked that anyone who was in the vicinity of Lemon and Valley Boulevard about 11:30 p.m. Sunday and may have seen anything to call him at (323) 890-5500.