Author: Carlos Lozano

A suspected bank robber dropped his fake gun and cash as he fled from a Pasadena bank Tuesday when the dye pack handed over with the money exploded, police said.

The attempted robbery occurred about 11 a.m. at City National Bank in the 100 block of South Lake Avenue when the suspect brandished a replica firearm and demanded money from a teller, police said.

The teller complied but also handed over a dye pack that was promptly activated and exploded, causing the suspect to flee empty-handed.

Detectives described the robber as a white male, 20 to 30 years old, 5-foot-10 to 6-foot, medium build, short hair, clean-shaven and wearing a light-colored shirt and camouflage pants.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to contact Pasadena police at (626) 744-4241 or (626) 744-6492.

— Richard Winton

The public is invited to attend a ceremony Sunday honoring four homeless Southern California veterans, whose remains were unclaimed at their deaths, putting them at risk of enduring burial in paupers’ graves.

Instead, the veterans, who were indigent and have no known family, will receive full military funeral honors at the Eternal Valley Memorial Park and Mortuary in Newhall.

The tribute is part of a national program known as the Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program, which is available in at least 25 cities across the country and has provided burial services to more than 675 homeless veterans since the program started in 2000, according to organizers.

The deceased servicemen to be honored Sunday are Raymond Frajardo, who served with the U.S. Navy from 1957 to 1963; John C. Newman, who was also with the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945; Larry Lavine, a member of the U.S. Army from 1957 to 1958; and Edward Goodrich, an Army veteran who served from 1962 to 1965.

Little else is known about the lives of the former servicemen.

The Dignity Memorial network will prepare the bodies and provide caskets, transportation and coordination of the funeral service. The veterans will be interred on April 21 at Riverside National Cemetery, which will provide a grave liner, a headstone or marker and a graveside ceremony, organizers said.

Jim Biby, market director of the Dignity Memorial network of funeral, cremation and cemetery service providers in the Los Angeles area, said in a statement that paying tribute to homeless and indigent veterans ensures that they get “the honors in death that their service in life merited.”

Sunday’s ceremony will include prayers, the laying of wreaths, a gun salute and the military bugle call "Taps." Attendees will be given dog tags engraved with the names of the decedents, and a small reception will follow the ceremony, according to organizers.

Eternal Valley Memorial Park and Mortuary is located at 23287 Sierra Highway in Newhall.

— Ann M. Simmons

 

Two men were arrested with 60 pounds of marijuana that police believe they were going to sell on skid row hours after the Los Angeles city attorney announced an injunction aimed at curbing so-called commuter drug dealers who travel to the area to sell their goods, authorities said.

LAPD Lt . Paul Vernon said investigators, acting on a tip, arrested Hector Cabrera, 33, and his passenger, Fernando Padilla, 38, last Wednesday as they sat in their car at a Bunker Hill apartment building. A third adult was questioned and released.

“It didn’t take the detectives long to realize they had the right car,” Vernon said. "There was so much weed in the car, they could smell it when they approached the driver’s window."

Detectives seized marijuana valued at at least $24,000 and as much as $100,000 if sold on the streets in small amounts, Vernon said.

"This marijuana was destined for Skid Row,” Vernon said. "It is both ironic and tragic that the country’s largest recovery area is also the region’s biggest drug bazaar.”

The city attorney’s office announced last week that it would seek a criminal injunction specifically targeting 80 named drug dealers who try to do business in the area.

— Richard Winton

A suspect has been identified in the killing of four people last weekend at a Valley Village restaurant, Los Angeles police said.

Nerses Galstyan, 28, is suspected in the shooting April 3 at the Hot Spot Cafe, police said. The victims were Hayk Yegnanyan, 25; Sarkis Karadjian, 26; Harut Baburyan, 28; and Vardan Tofalyan, 31.

Galstyan is believed to be the sole shooter in the attack, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Police have scheduled a news conference this afternoon.

Sources, who spoke to The Times on the condition that they not be named because of the ongoing investigation, have said they believe the shooting was tied to Armenian or Eurasian organized crime but are unsure of the motive.

The gunman entered the Middle Eastern restaurant about 4 p.m., approached a table where at least six men were dining and opened fire, police said. Three of the diners were killed almost instantly, and another died at a hospital.

Galstyan is not in custody but has been indicted in federal court on suspicion of dealing firearms without a license, according to the source.

Of the four killed, Baburyan, of Glendale, had a criminal record, according to court records and interviews.

He was convicted in 2000 of receiving stolen property and sentenced to 18 days in jail and five years’ probation, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Six years later, he pleaded no contest to illegal possession of a semiautomatic weapon and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said Baburyan was one of eight people charged in an auto fraud case in 2007. He was charged with five counts of auto fraud and convicted in May 2007 of attempted auto fraud and sentenced to six months in prison, prosecutors said.

Two of the other victims had been investigated by the police, one for petty theft and one for stolen goods. But prosecutors declined to charge them, Robison said.

The restaurant owner told The Times that the victims were part of a group of about 30 to 40 people who reserved the cafe starting at 1 p.m. Artour Balian said the victims were sitting quietly, talking among themselves, and didn’t appear disturbed in any way.

— Richard Winton

Businesses in downtown Mexicali were starting to reopen Tuesday as power was increasingly restored for the first time since Sunday’s 7.2 earthquake just south of here.

A few people were camped out in tents in the city’s parks. But overall the city of a million plus appeared to slowly be returning to normal.

Shopping centers and fast-food restaurants here were also reopening. The flow of people across the border continues but has been greatly reduced.

“Mexicali’s been through a lot,” said Eloisa Ramirez, 37, who was shopping downtown. “We’ll get through this.”

Meanwhile, across the border in Calexico, Calif., clean-up operations of the downtown area have been completed. But most buildings remain red-tagged.

 

–Tony Perry in Mexicali  

Catholics around Southern California expressed joy Tuesday at the announcement that Archbishop Jose Gomez, from San Antonio, will replace Cardinal Roger Mahony when he retires next year as head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Rev. Carlos Leon, parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Santa Ana, said he has followed Gomez’s work in Texas and credited him with bringing many people to the priesthood. He hopes Gomez will be able to do the same in Los Angeles, especially with the city’s large Latino population.

"He will be able to reach out to more Spanish speakers because he will be able to understand us more deeply," Leon said. "He knows our roots."

"We have to pray for him," Leon said. "We have to be pious and to pray for his success."

Maria de Los Angeles-Garcia, 83, and her husband Eusebi Ramirez, 68, who were attending noon mass at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church, known as “La Placita,” also expressed strong support for Gomez.

The couple said they were thrilled that Gomez was Latino and believed he would restore order and help rid the church of the problems that have long plagued it, such as the priest sex abuse scandals that have chased away members.

“I’m very happy” Gomez is Latino, said Maria, who added that she had been praying for a Latino archbishop, “someone saint enough to clean house.”

Jorge Contreras, 68, who has worked as a church security guard for 20 years, said he was surprised when he heard the news that the new archbishop was Latino.

“For him, it’s a great thing,” he said. “But not just for him, but for all Hispanics. We need change. We need someone who is going to understand our roots and culture and I think he’s that kind of person.”

Salvador Landa, an administrator of the Saint Anne Church in Santa Ana, said Gomez would attract more people to the church, not just because he is Spanish-speaking but because he has a deep understanding of the Latino culture.

“Cardinal Mahony spoke Spanish very well, but I think having a person coming from a Latin culture would make a difference,” Landa said.

He pointed out Gomez’s comments in his first news conference in Los Angeles signaling his support for comprehensive immigration reform.

“See, being Hispanic, since he knows the needs of the people, he will want to help people where they are at. He knows where people are coming from,” Landa said. “I used to be undocumented myself, a long time ago. I can connect to people because I know where they’re coming from.”

At the same time, Landa said, Gomez has shown that he is able to reach more than just the Spanish-speaking communities.

“What’s more important is that the new archbishop has the leadership, talent and abilities to lead the multicultural community in Los Angeles,” he said. “Being Catholic, masses are said in so many languages in Los Angeles. What’s important for the archbishop is that he can help grow their faith.”

Landa’s church in Santa Ana is more than 90% Latino, he said, with six out of 11 masses in Spanish.

–My Thuan Tran in Orange County and Ruben Vives in Los Angeles

 A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of felony battery after tackling a referee following a soccer match in Temecula, authorities said Monday.

Charles Hayne was ejected during a match Sunday evening between two adult soccer teams at the Patricia H. Birdsall Sports Park, according to officials from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident occurred after the two teams had begun to fight and the referee, Gaston Manrique, 50, ended the game with 20 minutes left in regulation time.

As Manrique was recording the final score on the field, Haynes tackled him. Manrique was taken to a hospital and was examined for possible spinal injuries, authorities said.

Haynes fled the scene before sheriff’s deputies arrived at the park. But police found him later at his residence in Canyon Lake.

He was arrested on suspicion of felony battery and battery against a sports official.

— My Thuan-Tran 

In a poor farming village about 20 miles south of Mexicali, the Baja government was setting up a relief center Monday to distribute blankets, food and water for those whose homes were damaged or flooded. Hundreds of people, mostly families, have begun lining up, some of them walking miles to get to the center.

Scattered throughout Colonia de la Puerta, hundreds of ramshackle homes made of adobe or brick, with tin or tar-paper roofs, collapsed after Sunday’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake. Many people are sleeping outside or in tents.

Government workers were busy Monday setting up a large tent to provide shelter while social service agencies were setting up to offer assistance. There were no reports of injuries. 

The Mexican Army is here to help keep control and President Felipe Calderon is scheduled to arrive Monday afternoon.

The lines at the relief center were mostly orderly and government officials said they did not anticipate any problems.

“We all know each other in this area,” said Hugo Flores, a government worker. “No one will cause a problem because, if he does, we will know him.”

“This is a seismic area so we try to be prepared,” said Marco Antonio, Undersecretary for Public Security for Baja. “But this was bigger than we anticipated. We’re doing our best to put things together.”

Maria del Carmen, 21, said she and her family arrived at the relief center after walking seven miles from their home. “We have nothing,” she said. “We have no water for our family. We need help.”

Mario Jimenez, 41, said he lived in an area where the canals broke and flooded houses. “There was water everywhere, like a big rain, except it came in the house this time,” he said.

Evelyn Evangelista, 43, said her family’s tortilla factory was heavily damaged. The roof and walls collapsed and there is no electricity or water. “This shop was our whole life,” she said. “But at least our family survived.”

Roberto Gonzalez-Chavez, 45, and his common law wife, Virginia Rodriguez-Felix, said their whole house fell. “Thank god we are still alive,” Rodriguez-Felix said.

For now, the couple are sleeping in their backyard. They have no water or power. Later today, the president’s helicopter is expected to land in a ballpark behind their house.

— Tony Perry in Colonia de la Puerta, Mexico

A man suspected of assaulting a woman, who jumped off a Malibu cliff and slid down a 200-foot embankment to escape, was arrested Friday in San Bernardino, authorities said.

Christian Marcus Verdin, 31, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and robbery, said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The woman had just finished jogging about noon March 12 above Point Dume State Beach when the assailant grabbed her from behind. She struggled with the man before breaking free and jumping over the beachfront cliff, Whitmore said.

“She fought off her attacker by literally jumping over the cliff and sliding down 200 feet to the beach,” Whitmore said.

The suspect’s arrest stemmed from DNA evidence gathered by investigators, Whitmore said.

The victim was treated for cuts and bruises that she suffered while sliding down the cliff.

–Richard Winton

Although the annual nondenominational Hollywood Bowl Easter Sunrise Service was canceled this year because of a lack of donations, Bel Air Presbyterian Church will hold an 11 a.m. service Sunday at the outdoor venue.

It is open to the public and expected to draw several thousand people.

The program will include a performance by the church’s Easter Choir and a professional orchestra. Dr. Mark Brewer, pastor of Bel Air Presbyterian, will preside.

“We are grateful to be able to provide this service for so many people in Los Angeles and beyond to come together to enjoy great music and be inspired by the true meaning of Easter,” Brewer said.

The bowl grounds will be open starting at 9 a.m. Parfking is free.

–Ann Simmons

The recession and lack of adequate donor support have led to the cancellation this year of the popular Hollywood Bowl Easter Sunrise Service, organizers said Thursday.

“It’s terribly heartbreaking,” said Trina Herrmann-Boychenko, president of the group that organizes the annual service. “It’s the economy, and our donors are unable to support [the event] as much as they would like to."

The nonprofit group Hollywood Bowl Easter Sunrise Service relies on financial assistance from corporations and the general public to present the nondenominational Easter celebration.

The cost of putting on the event is “substantial ... similar to putting on a rock concert or lease event,” said Herrmann-Boychenko. She would not specify a dollar amount.

Admission and parking are typically free of charge to the event that in past years organizers said had attracted between 12,000 and 17,000 worshipers. Attendance dropped to around 8,000 in the last two years, Herrmann-Boychenko said.

It is not the first time the service has been canceled. It failed to go forward in 2004 and 2005 due to a $25-million renovation to replace the stage shell with a larger structure. It also was canceled for five years in the mid-1990s because of other renovation work at the amphitheater.

The service was held in other locations, including at nearby Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in Hollywood Hills.

The event also suffered an emotional blow last year when longtime volunteer and producer Norma Foster suffered a massive stroke, Herrmann Boychenko said.

The sunrise services began in 1919 as a gathering for silent film stars near the site of the Hollywood Bowl, and moved to its current site in 1921. Back then, the bowl was basically a hillside blanketed with rocks and weeds, but the area had good natural acoustics.

–Ann Simmons

Photo: Easter services at the Hollywood Bowl in 1947. UCLA collection.

Two mentally disabled Mexican immigrants who spent years in detention facilities after completing their sentences for assault convictions were released Wednesday by U.S. immigration authorities, officials said.

Jose Franco-Gonzalez, 29, of Costa Mesa and Guillermo Gomez-Sanchez, 48, of San Bernardino each spent more than four years in detention facilities because authorities had deemed them mentally incompetent, their attorneys said.

Their deportation cases were suspended in 2005 and 2006 and not reopened for years. The men were then shuttled through a network of jails, psychiatric hospitals and detention centers.

“We’re very pleased [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] reached this decision, but it’s a shame it takes a federal lawsuit to do the right thing and come to a common-sense result,” said attorney Talia Inlender of Public Counsel, one of a coalition of legal advocates that filed lawsuits on the men’s behalf last week in federal court.

The lawsuits allege that the men’s prolonged detention violated their constitutional rights. Their release came a day after The Times published a story about their cases. 

An ICE official said that after a review of the men’s custody status and medical conditions and assurances from their families that the men would be safe and secure, the agency determined that the two immigrants should be released.

Both will be placed on electronic monitoring and will be provided with treatment in community health centers. They could still be deported.

“We have waited five years for this moment,” Ruben Franco, Jose Franco’s brother, said in a statement. “This was such a long struggle that nobody should have to go through.”

Franco’s family — his parents are legal residents — has a pending petition that would allow him to apply for a green card. He has moderate mental retardation. Gomez is a legal resident diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

Franco was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and served a year in jail for throwing a rock during a fight between rival gangs, his attorneys said.

Gomez served one year of a two-year sentence for a 2004 assault conviction stemming from a scuffle over tomatoes he picked without permission.

— Andrew Becker

This report is published in cooperation with the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, where Becker is a staff reporter.

A recent series of killings in Los Angeles has nearly erased impressive gains made this year on the city’s homicide rate, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday.

Over the last 11 days, 19 people have been killed. The bloodshed brings the number of killings this year to 70, Beck said during his weekly crime briefing to the Los Angeles Police Commission. Before the rise in violence, the LAPD had been posting double-digit decreases in the homicide rate compared to last year, in which a record low 314 people were killed.  Now, the city has experienced only two fewer killings compared to the same period last year.

Beck cautioned that spikes in violence and periods of calm are “the nature of homicide in Los Angeles,” and expressed confidence that police would be able to stem the recent uptick.  All but a few of the 19 killings were gang-related and the result of isolated flare-ups between warring gangs primarily in the city’s Hollenbeck and Foothill areas, Beck said.

To counter the bloodshed, the chief has ordered the temporary redeployment of officers from quieter parts of the city to those experiencing the killings.  He said he also hoped his recent decision to bolster the ranks of the LAPD’s 21 area stations with more than 150 officers previously assigned to specialized units would help matters.

The increased number of homicides, Beck emphasized, underscores the difficulty of policing the city during the ongoing fiscal crisis that has taken a toll on department budgets.  Unable to pay officers for overtime hours, Beck is requiring them to take days off from work instead.  The resulting decrease in manpower has made it hard for department commanders to deploy the additional officers needed when violence flares.

Overall, the rate of violent crime in the city, including rape and robbery, remains down nearly 15% over the same period last year, the chief reported.  Property crimes, such as auto thefts and burglaries, are also down.

— Joel Rubin at LAPD headquarters

Photo: Hollywood apartment complex where a woman was slain Friday. Credit: Los Angeles Times

More breaking news in L.A. Now: 

L.A. County supervisors terminate relationship with foster care agency

Questions over police firing at chase suspect in rush-hour traffic; investigation launched

$500,000 donation approved for nonprofit that will run King hospital

Serial killer Rodney Alcala sentenced to death

Rain to return to L.A. area as early as Wednesday

Bus, tanker crash ties up westbound 210 Freeway

L.A. man who set beloved homeless man on fire with flare pleads guilty to murder

Authorities in Ventura County on Monday said the arrest of an alleged heroin kingpin in Mexico was triggered by a local investigation that has made a significant dent in the area drug market.

Described by Mexican officials as “the king of heroin,’’ Jose Antonio Medina Arreguin, 36, was apprehended last week. He is said to have smuggled 440 pounds of heroin monthly into California for at least three years, stashing most of it in secret compartments built into automobiles. Mexican narcotics officials said his operation brought in about $12 million a month.

At a news conference, Ventura County Dist. Atty. Greg Totten said the arrest by Mexican authorities “dramatically weakened perhaps the largest drug operation’’ in the county’s history. Although much of the investigation focused on drug sales in Oxnard, Arreguin’s alleged network of distributors sold black tar heroin and methamphetamines from San Diego to San Jose, officials said.

Totten said Arreguin – also known as "Don Pepe" – was not known to be a member of any larger drug syndicate. However, he apparently operated with the blessings of La Familia, a cartel that controls the western state of Michoacan. Officials said they had no evidence of any role played by Arreguin in the wave of bloody drug violence that has swept the nation.

A portly man in a striped polo shirt, Arreguin was paraded before reporters in Mexico after his arrest, flanked by heavily armed officers wearing face masks. Disclosure of his apprehension came the same week that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton promised aid for Mexico’s internal war against its powerful drug lords.

The two-year investigation that culminated in Arreguin’s capture started with the drug bust of two lower-ranking associates. Making extensive use of wiretaps, a team composed of Ventura County sheriff’s deputies, DEA agents, and officers from Oxnard and Downey traced the source of the heroin in that bust to a man in Michoacan they knew only as Don Pepe. At the request of the U.S. Department of Justice, Mexican officials identified him, tracked him down and arrested him.

Arreguin allegedly smuggled heroin made from poppies grown in the southern state of Guerrero. Authorities said he had most of it surreptitiously driven across the border at Tijuana.

Ventura County is in the process of requesting extradition for Arreguin, who faces a U.S. prison term of 29 years. How long the process will take is unclear, said Deputy Dist. Atty Ryan Wright, who has been his office’s point man on the case.

Keeping a major Mexican drug figure in a local jail and trying him in local courts will not pose an insurmountable security problem, said Sheriff Bob Brooks.

“We’re more than comfortable we can handle this,’’ he said.

— Steve Chawkins in Ventura

Photo: AP

Two mentally disabled Mexican immigrants, facing deportation for criminal assault convictions for which they have already served their time, continue to be held in detention facilities in violation of their constitutional rights, according to separate lawsuits filed in federal court.

Jose Franco-Gonzalez, 29, of Costa Mesa and Guillermo Gomez-Sanchez, 48, of San Bernardino have languished in detention facilities for years because authorities deemed them mentally incompetent, their attorneys said.

Their deportation cases were closed in 2005 and 2006 and the men have since been forgotten, shuttled through a network of jails, psychiatric hospitals and detention centers, they said.

“This represents a massive failure on the part of our immigration system to create procedures to deal with individuals with disabilities,” said attorney Talia Inlender of Public Counsel, one of a coalition of legal advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, which filed the habeas corpus petitions last week.

Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, declined to comment on the cases, citing privacy concerns and the pending litigation. But ICE attorneys have argued that the law requires both men to continue to be detained because of their crimes.

Attorneys for the men said their clients have served their time and should be released. Gomez is a legal resident, and Franco’s family — his parents are legal residents — has a pending petition that would allow him to apply for a green card.

The men still could face deportation. But their families said the men would be unable to care for themselves in Mexico  because of their mental conditions.

Franco, who has moderate mental retardation, was convicted and served a year in jail for an assault with a deadly weapon charge for throwing a rock during a fight between rival gangs, his attorneys said. He doesn’t know his birth date or how to tell time, and has an IQ no higher than 55, Inlender said.

“He doesn’t comprehend what he’s going through,” Franco’s brother, Ruben, said. “It’s just really hard for us to try to explain that we don’t know [what’s going to happen]. Because it’s not up to us, it’s up to the government.”

Gomez, who has paranoid schizophrenia, served one year of a two-year sentence for a 2004 assault conviction stemming from a scuffle over tomatoes he picked without permission. He has previous convictions, including battery against a police officer, which his attorneys have attributed to his mental illness.

 — Andrew Becker

This report is published in cooperation with the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, where Becker is a staff reporter.

Despite the concerns of residents and activists, the Los Angeles Transportation Committee will consider Wednesday whether to raise the speed limit on three San Fernando Valley streets — a necessary step in order for the city to legally use radar enforcement.

California law requires that cities survey street speed at least every seven years and set the speed limit according to how fast 85% of motorists are travelling, according to the department of transportation. Last year, transportation commissioners recommended that the committee increase the speed limit on the three valley streets from 35 mph to 40 mph.

The streets include Arleta Avenue between Devonshire Street and Roscoe Boulevard; Sheldon Street between Glenoaks Boulevard and Roscoe Boulevard; and Hollywood Way between the city limits of Burbank and Glenoaks Boulevard.

A traffic survey by the Los Angeles Police Department found that 88% of motorists would be considered speed violators if the current 35 miles per hour speed limit were to be retained on a section of Hollywood Way. Similar surveys on Arleta Avenue found that around 56% of drivers would have breached the speed limit; and on Sheldon Street around 46% would have been driving above the allowed speed.

It is up to the transportation committee, which is composed of five L.A. City County members, to make recommendations on the speed-limit increase and submit the issue to the entire council for consideration, said Sharon Gin, the committee’s legislative assistant.

Many residents, cyclists and community activists plan to make their voices heard at the session.

“Our streets are not safe for humans,” said Stephen Box, a community activist and cyclist. “They are designed for speed, and speed kills.”

Box and others are calling on city officials to redesign the streets in a way that would encourage motorists to drive slower.

Dorothy Le, director of policy and planning for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, said her group is suggesting remedies such as more speed bumps, curb cut-outs and making roads narrower.

Mike O’Gara, president of the Sun Valley Area Neighborhood Council, said he was particularly concerned about the safety of students walking to the several schools located on or near Arleta Avenue.

“I understand that the speed limit in these school zones is 25 miles per hour, but it is difficult to brake from 40 miles an hour to 25 in a short distance,” O’Gara said.

— Ann M. Simmons

An off-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy and a passenger were killed Saturday evening when their Dodge Viper struck a tree in Huntington Beach.

In a news release, Huntington Beach police said the driver, Deputy Terry Stepp, was traveling north at 6:18 p.m. on Goldenwest Street near Pecan Avenue "at a high rate of speed when for unknown reasons he lost control and crashed into a tree located on the center median.”

Stepp, 44, of Wildomar in Riverside County, was taken to UCI Medical Center, where he died of his injuries before midnight. Passenger David Kerr, 59, of Huntington Beach, was pronounced dead at the scene.

— Bettina Boxall

A 24-year-old suspect in the brutal killings of a young New Jersey couple has been arrested in Paramount, authorities said.

Kuasheim Powell, who was arrested March 16, is being held at a Los Angeles County Jail facility in connection with the February slayings, which authorities said were in retaliation for violence between the Crips and Bloods street gangs.

The 23-year-old male victim was beaten, stabbed and shot over a period of several hours, according to authorities. His 18-year-old girlfriend was beaten and strangled.

Powell is one of several adult and juvenile suspects in the case.

[Updated at 9:10 p.m. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and U.S. Marshals Service made the arrest acting on information provided by police in Camden, N.J.]

–Andrew Blankstein

A man wanted in connection with a double homicide in Detroit has been arrested in Gardena by U.S. marshals and Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies.

Acting on information provided by Detroit police, they arrested Derrick Dennard Smith on Friday near 146th Street and Normandie Avenue. Smith is being held at the county’s Twin Towers Correctional Facility.

Smith, 42, was wanted in connection with the fatal shootings of a woman and her boyfriend in Detroit on March 1. The woman’s two daughters, ages 8 and 6, were in the home hiding at the time, and the oldest girl’s distraught 911 call was heavily publicized.

When the child could not tell the dispatcher her address, the dispatcher asked her to put her mother on the phone. "She’s almost dead,” the girl replied.

–Andrew Blankstein