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Santiago Nunez Romero, 42

Santiago Nunez Romero, a 42-year-old Latino, was fatally shot on Saturday, Dec. 16, in the 700 block of East 81st Street in the South Los Angeles community of Florence, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records. 

Romero was outside his home when he got into an argument with neighbors around 8 a.m., said Los Angeles Police South Bureau Homicide Det. Supervisor Nathan Kouri. 

It’s not clear what started the interaction, Kouri said, “but it was part of an ongoing neighbor dispute.”

The argument turned physical, Kouri said, and during the fight, one of the neighbors pulled a gun and shot Romero, Kouri said. 

Romero was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:15 a.m., according to coroner’s records.

One of two suspects in the shooting, William Villalobos, 27, was arrested at the scene, Kouri said. 

Villalobos was charged with murder Dec. 19 and is being held in lieu of $2-million bail. His arraignment was continued until Dec. 28. 

Investigators think a second neighbor fired the fatal shot. He left before officers arrived and is still being sought, Kouri said. 

Anyone with information about this case should call LAPD’s South Bureau Homicide at 323-786-5110. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.  

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.

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