Three charged in March 8 attack that left San Gabriel man dead

Three men have been charged with murder in a March 8 beating and stabbing that killed a 22-year-old San Gabriel man. 

Israel Ramirez-Perez was standing in the driveway of a small apartment building talking to a friend about 10:45 p.m. when a car pulled up beside them, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Mendoza. 

Witnesses told authorities that four men got out of the car and began to beat Ramirez-Perez and his friend, Mendoza said.

The friend survived the beating, but the attackers also stabbed Ramirez-Perez in the abdomen and he was pronounced dead at the scene at 11 p.m.

Investigators believe the four men targeted Ramirez-Perez because “they didn’t like him,” Mendoza said.

“They lived in the same neighborhood, they’d had arguments in the past and they targeted him because of that," Mendoza said.

Three of the suspected attackers, all Latinos, were arrested on suspicion of murder April 28, Mendoza said. 

On May 2, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office filed murder charges against Daniel Martinez, 19, Rigoberto Sandoval, 20, and Jorge Lopez, 18. Lopez was also charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon, according to spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani.

The men were arraigned the same day, and all three pleaded not guilty, Ardalani said.

They are each being held on more than $1-million bail. Their next court appearance, to set a date for their preliminary hearing, is June 29 in Department 5 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Alhambra Courthouse. 

Investigators are still looking for a fourth attacker, Mendoza said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477. 

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.