Thread: SAN FERNANDO VALLEY HOMICIDES : JANUARY - MARCH 2007

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY HOMICIDES : JANUARY 2007

http://www.dailynews.com/homicides


Victim Date Address

Johnny Cano, 15 Saturday, January 6, 2007 7200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard

Anna Burgos, 32 Friday, January 12, 2007 6200 block of Denny Avenue

Joseph St. Peter, 47 Friday, January 12, 2007 7800 block of San Fernando Road

Armando Vera, 22 Saturday, January 20, 2007 9500 block of Van Nuys Boulevard

Rene Maria Spata, 18 Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10400 Danube Avenue

Marvin Wilfredo Tobar, 21 Tuesday, January 23, 2007 10400 Danube Avenue

Rodolfo Mendoza Cruz, 24 Saturday, January 27, 2007 14032 Oxnard St.

Juan Doe, 17 Wednesday, January 31, 2007 15500 block of Nordhoff Street

http://www.dailynews.com/homicides

RELATED STORY

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Armando Vera

Wanted: Man Who Allegedly Killed Sister's Ex

(CBS) PANORAMA CITY, Calif. Police Monday sought the public's help in finding a man who allegedly killed his sister's former boyfriend during an argument in Panorama City.

Rudy Angel Magana, 24, allegedly shot Armando Vera about 4 p.m. Saturday at the Summer View apartments, 9510 Van Nuys Blvd., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Vera, 22, died at a hospital.

Magana allegedly fled in a red, 1999 Ford Explorer with California license number 4KXZ996.

Vera was arguing with his former girlfriend over child visitation when Magana intervened and shot him, police allege.

The victim was coming to pick up his child when he was shot, according to reports from the scene.

http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_022173729.html

Rodolfo Mendoza Cruz

GANG RELATED

3 shot, 1 fatally, outside eatery

BY BRENT HOPKINS, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 01/29/2007 08:13:51 PM PST


VAN NUYS - Police are investigating possible gang ties in a weekend argument that left one man dead and two with gunshot wounds outside a popular restaurant, authorities said Monday.

Shortly after midnight Saturday, three men traded words inside La Sirenita with Rodolfo Mendoza Cruz, 24, and Arturo Martinez, 35, both of Panorama City, and Louis Ibarra, 24, of Van Nuys.

After a brief dispute, the men, unknown to the victims, departed the restaurant at 14032 Oxnard St., and Cruz, Martinez and Ibarra stepped outside for a smoke.

There, they encountered the three men again, who pulled out large-caliber handguns, Los Angeles police Officer Mike Lopez said. One of them said something in Spanish, then all three fired repeatedly, hitting the three men who had stepped outside the restaurant.

"When one bullet flies, everybody runs," Lopez said.

The suspects, described only as 25 to 35 years old, ran away. Police believe the conflict might have stemmed from gang tensions, but declined to elaborate.

Cruz was transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was pronounced dead from a gunshot to the torso. Ibarra is in fair condition at Holy Cross and Martinez

is in stable condition at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center.
In November, William Miller, 22, of Van Nuys was shot to death at the nearby corner of Oxnard and Hazeltine Avenue. The restaurant's owner, Alfredo Gonzalez, said he didn't know much about either shooting.

"I wasn't here that night, so we're just letting the authorities take care of the investigation," he said. "I didn't know the guys, they were just here."

Detective Craig Rhudy, homicide coordinator with the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys station, said that prior to Saturday's violence, there had been few problems with the restaurant, previously known as Don Drysdale's Dugout.

"We haven't had much trouble there," Rhudy said. "I think the residents around the bar aren't real happy with it, but we haven't had a lot of radio calls. Most places that have music will have problems with people complaining about the noise, but it was pretty minor stuff."

Police are asking anyone with information on Saturday's homicide to call Van Nuys detectives at (81 374-0040 during regular business hours.

brent.hopkins@dailynews.com

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_5114962

Johnny Cano

GANG RELATED

#1 HOMOCIDE OF 2007 FOR SAN FERNANDO VALLEY


Slain good kid, 15, mistakenly dressed to kill

Gangster probably thought victim a rival, police think

BY RICK COCA, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 01/10/2007 10:04:40 PM PST


Related
Violence on the Streets
Jan 11:

Cops, neighbors huddle on crimeA 15-year-old boy shot and killed Saturday in Van Nuys as he returned from running an errand for his sister was apparently mistaken by his attacker for a gang member.

Police said that Johnny Cano, originally reported to be 16, was not a gang member, but a good kid and a good student - in the wrong clothes.

Wearing baggy khaki pants and a dark-colored flannel shirt - clothes associated with gang members - Cano was walking home from a shopping center near Sherman Way and Van Nuys Boulevard when he was attacked. A Latino male, 18 to 20 years old, wearing a gray hooded sweat shirt and white baggy shorts, approached Cano and shot him several times before fleeing in a white passenger car, said Detective Craig Rhudy of the Los Angeles Police Department.

"Most of the people that dress that way that get killed in Van Nuys are gang members," Rhudy said. "It's really dangerous to dress that way."

Street gangs battle it out in a competition for territory in the area where the shooting occurred, Rhudy said. Police said Cano might not have been known that.

Police said Saturday's fatal shooting underscores the risks young people take when emulating their favorite rap or hip-hop stars, who often don fashions inspired by prison and gang culture.

Rhudy said Cano's family believed that his fashion choices put him at risk.

"They did have an idea he was dressing that way, and they did try to get him to stop, and apparently they weren't successful," Rhudy said. "I think he probably thought it was cool to dress that way at school, and he didn't think that it would lead to his death.

"Unfortunately, he was wrong."

Police, city officials and activists are hammering out ways to combat the escalating gang shootings and homicides, including a shooting in which two teenage boys were wounded Tuesday outside of Grant High School.

While alternatives are debated, Rhudy offered up some advice for young people.

"If they don't have shaved heads, don't have visible tattoos, don't have baggy pants, they're probably not going to be bothered," he said. "You can also avoid being stopped by the police if you're not wearing gang attire in a gang neighborhood.

"It's sad when someone dies," he said.

If you have any information on this homicide, call Van Nuys detectives at (81 374-0040 or, after business hours, at (81 374-1963.

rick.coca@dailynews.com

(81 713-3329

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_4989914

JUAN DOE

GANG RELATED

Teen shot, killed in Valley driveby

Name: Juan Doe

Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Address: 7200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard

Daniel Martinez, 17 Wednesday, January 31, 2007 15500 block of Nordhoff Street

Teen shot, killed in Valley driveby
Name: Daniel Martinez
Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Address: 15500 block of Nordhoff Street

Janet Martinez, 25 Thursday, February 1, 2007 10500 block of Telfair Avenue

Woman found strangled
Name: Janet Martinez
Date: Thursday, February 1, 2007
Address: 10500 block of Telfair Avenue

Antonio's gang plan: Phase one

Czar for LAPD programs, Most Wanted list sought
BY RICK ORLOV, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 02/07/2007 10:30:56 PM PST
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VIDEO:
Gang Initiative
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Canoga Park Alabama gang boundaries

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DOWNLOAD:
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rick.orlov@dailynews.com

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_5181014

All Most Wanted

http://www.lapdonline.org/all_most_wanted

NUMBER 11

Gang member shot while crossing out rivals graffiti

Name: Albert Chim
Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Address: 7200 block of Lennox Avenue

--------------------------------------------------
noticias.info

Graffiti-Painting Gang Member Shot and Killed by Rivals

/noticias.info/ Los Angeles: Los Angeles police detectives are asking for the public's help in finding any witnesses who may have seen the shooting of a man in Van Nuys Wednesday evening.

On February 14, 2007, at about 6:50 p.m., Albert Chim, a 23-year-old Hispanic man, was in the 7200 block of Lennox Avenue, crossing out gang graffiti and replacing it with his own, when he was shot several times.

Chim was transported to a local hospital where he died a short time later. The suspects are described as three Hispanic males, 15 to 20 years old.

Anyone with information is asked to call Van Nuys Detectives at 818-374-0040. On weekends and during off-hours, call the 24-hour toll free number at 1-877-LAWFULL (529-3855).


http://www.noticias.info/asp/PrintingVe ... NOT=261976

12 ) Street shooting kills boy, 17 GANG
Name: Randy Almanza
Date: Sunday, February 18, 2007
Address: 6700 block of Vineland Avenue

STORY http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_5263194

13) Death of 82-year-old woman a homicide
Name: Rosa Octavila Ramos
Date: Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Address: 6400 block of Topeka Dr

STORY POLICE SEEK HANDYMAN ( DAY LABORER?)
http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-bodyfound ... tla-news-1

14) Van Nuys man killed in driveby shooting GANG
Name: Mario Garcia Chiarinos
Date: Sunday, February 25, 2007
Address: 14400 block of Kittridge Street

STORY http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_057193124.html