ReportWire

Tag: suspect

  • Suspect charged in killing of man whose body was found in Malibu Lagoon barrel

    Suspect charged in killing of man whose body was found in Malibu Lagoon barrel

    A 32-year-old man is in custody after being charged in the murder of a musician whose body was found inside a barrel at Malibu Lagoon State Beach this summer.

    Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives arrested Joshua Lee Simmons earlier this month. He is charged in the killing of Javonnta Murphy, who authorities say was fatally shot before his body was dumped into the lagoon inside a 55-gallon plastic drum.

    Prosecutors allege that Simmons shot Murphy to death on July 27, three days before a maintenance worker first spotted the barrel in a shallow water inlet.

    The maintenance worker paddled out in a kayak and pulled the container to the shore, but didn’t open it. The next day, a lifeguard saw the same barrel — now back in the lagoon — and swam out and brought it onto the beach, where he opened it and discovered the body.

    Joshua Lee Simmons is one of two men arrested and charged in connection with the killing of a man whose body was found in a barrel at Malibu Lagoon State Beach.

    (El Monte Police Dept.)

    Simmons is also charged with making criminal threats against a second man on the same day he is accused of killing Murphy. That man, Brandon Gray, was taken into custody at the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff’s station on Oct. 5, but was not charged.

    Prosecutors allege that an accomplice, Dennis Eugene Vance, helped cover up the fatal shooting and have charged him as an accessory after the fact.

    Simmons is also the suspect in an attempted robbery at Meza Jewelry in El Monte that was thwarted by a store owner. Surveillance cameras captured the burglary suspect around 2 p.m. on Sept. 2 as he walked down Main Street — dressed in all black, wearing a face mask and carrying a cardboard box. Israel Mesa was sprayed with bear repellent by the suspect.

    A video identifying Simmons as the suspect was circulated by detectives seeking to apprehend him just days after the attempted robbery.

    Simmons and Vance were arrested on Oct. 3. Two days later, Simmons was charged with murder, criminal threats, attempted robbery and two counts of criminal threats against the store owner.

    Simmons is being held on $3.275-million bail in L.A. County’s Men’s Central Jail and is due back in court on Nov. 3. He has yet to enter a plea. Vance has been released on bond listed as $50,000 and is also set to appear that day.

    Simmons has a history of violent offenses, including a 2019 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon in connection with a crime in 2013.

    Murphy, 32, was living in Sylmar at the time he was killed and was pursuing a career in music, according to authorities and a family friend. He grew up in South Los Angeles with his four brothers — two older and two younger, said Patrick Nelson, 46, a family friend who dated Murphy’s mother and considered himself a stepfather of sorts to Murphy.

    After the death of Murphy’s grandmother, who anchored their family, Murphy moved into an apartment of his own in Sylmar, Nelson said. He was pursuing a career in rapping and dreamed of becoming a successful artist, Nelson said.

    Murphy spent his free time lifting weights and running, Nelson said, and was father to a young son.

    “He was a good kid, good person. He didn’t gang-bang. What happened to him, I just don’t understand,” Nelson said.

    Murphy’s naked body was inside a barrel that contained markings suggesting it came from a printing company.

    Richard Winton

    Source link

  • Home invasion suspect reportedly threatened to kill Jewish family in Studio City, yelled ‘Free Palestine’

    Home invasion suspect reportedly threatened to kill Jewish family in Studio City, yelled ‘Free Palestine’

    A man was arrested early Wednesday morning after allegedly attempting to break into a Studio City home and reportedly threatening the Jewish occupants — an incident authorities say is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

    The home invasion was reported around 5 a.m. in the 3000 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

    The suspect, identified only as a man in his 30s, is accused of entering the home’s backyard and trying to kick in a door; he was held at bay by an occupant who then contacted the police.

    KTTV-TV Channel 11 reported that the person who called police said the suspect had “threatened to kill them because they were Israeli,” and that the home’s occupants were Jewish.

    Footage captured by the television station showed the suspect yelling, “Free Palestine” several times after being placed into the back of an LAPD vehicle.

    In additional footage taken by a neighbor, the man can be heard yelling incoherent responses to police and stating that he was not armed.

    LAPD officials said the incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. In a statement, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called it a “vile act of hate.”

    “In the wake of the terror and violence inflicted over the previous weeks, this is one of the worst fears of Jewish families across our country — hatred spilling across the threshold, destroying the sense of safety and sanctuary in a home,” Bass said. “We remain steadfast in support of the Jewish people. The people of Los Angeles will not cower to hate.”

    Bass said the LAPD would continue to conduct increased patrols and called on officials “to take action to ensure the person responsible for this heinous act is held fully accountable.”

    Christian Martinez

    Source link

  • Armed neighbors detain home invasion suspect until deputies arrive, undersheriff says

    Armed neighbors detain home invasion suspect until deputies arrive, undersheriff says

    ST. CHARLES, Mich. (WNEM) – Two St. Charles neighbors, who are concealed pistol holders, are being credited with detaining a home invasion suspect until law enforcement arrived at the scene.

    The incident unfolded about 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 25 when the Saginaw County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a disorderly suspect who was jumping on a car and yelling.

    While deputies were being dispatched to the scene, the suspect broke into a house on Sanderson Street in the village of St. Charles, Undersheriff Miguel Gomez said.

    Two neighbors saw the incident unfold and they believed the house the suspect had broken into was occupied so they rushed to help.

    The neighbors entered the house about 7:50 a.m. and detained the suspect until the deputies arrived a couple minutes later, Gomez said.

    The suspect, a 32-year-old St. Charles man, was then taken into custody.

    A 41-year-old woman and her two children, ages 13 and 9, were home at the time of the incident, Gomez said.

    No one was injured and the sheriff’s office credits that due to the “quick action” of the two neighbors.

    It is unclear what the suspect’s intentions were, but he appeared to be under the influence of drugs, Gomez said.

    The suspect has been charged with first-degree home invasion, and malicious destruction of personal property more than $1,000 but less than $20,000.

    Copyright 2022 WNEM. All rights reserved.

    Source link

  • Suspected Gunman At Large After 3 Dead, 2 Wounded In University Of Virginia Shooting

    Suspected Gunman At Large After 3 Dead, 2 Wounded In University Of Virginia Shooting

    Topline

    Three people were killed and two wounded in a shooting at the University of Virginia late Sunday night, officials announced, with police urging people at the university’s Charlottesville campus to shelter in place as they search for the suspect.

    Key Facts

    Police and university officials urged people to shelter in place after the shooting at the university’s main campus in Charlottesville late Sunday night.

    Police warned the suspect, identified as school student Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., is at large and is believed to be “armed and dangerous.”

    Jones was described as wearing a burgundy jacket, blue jeans and red shoes and police said he may be driving a black SUV.

    The UVA police department said multiple police agencies are working to apprehend Jones, including Virginia State police, who have deployed helicopters.

    University president Jim Ryan said he is “heartbroken” to report the shooting had resulted in three fatalities and said the university is working closely to support the families of the victims.

    What We Don’t Know

    Two victims were injured in the shooting and are receiving medical care, Ryan said in a statement. He said the university will share additional details “as soon as we are able,” adding that the institution will “keep our community apprised of developments as the situation evolves.”

    Crucial Quote

    “This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send,” Ryan wrote in a statement on the shooting. “I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia.”

    Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

    Source link