Eronald Deas III, a 16-year-old blackmale, died Sunday, Oct. 6, in Long Beach, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.
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Eronald Deas III, 16
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Marco Antonio Vazquez, 37
Marco Antonio Vazquez, a 37-year-old Latinomale, died Sunday, Oct. 6, in West Whittier-Los Nietos, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.
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Compton man sentenced to 15 years to life for killing his wife
A 67-year-old man was sentenced Sept. 25 to 15 years to life in prison for killing his wife of more than 30 years in their Compton home last year, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
Henry Cunningham pleaded no contest July 29 to one count of second-degree murder in the killing of Melanie Ann Cunningham, according to prosecutors.
Around 1 a.m. on Dec. 17, 2018, Cunningham slit his wife's throat with a knife while she was sleeping in bed with their 1-year-old granddaughter, according to a probation report filed in court.
Cunningham then took his granddaughter, who was unharmed, to a spare bedroom and went back to sleep. The next morning, he drove to his daughter's work with about $6,000 in cash and told her that he had just killed Melanie.
Cunningham told sheriff's homicide detectives that he had not fought with his wife for over 20 years, but "things started going downhill" after she stared working as an in-home care nurse in Chatsworth. He suspected she was abusing drugs, according to the report.
Hours before the murder, Cunningham, his wife and their granddaughter went out to dinner to celebrate the victim's 58th birthday. After the outing, they returned home and went to bed.
Cunningham told the detectives that he believed his wife was putting drugs into his body, and felt the "drug stuff," in his system when he woke up shortly after. He said he had a strange feeling that told him to "get her or she was going to get him," which prompted him to retrieve a 12-inch knife from the kitchen to cut the victim's throat.
Prosecutors said there were no traces of drugs in his system at the time of his arrest.
Cunningham had initially been charged with one count of murder and one misdemeanor count of cruelty to a child by inflicting injury. The misdemeanor count was later dismissed as a result of the plea, according to district attorney's office.
Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.
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Aristides Ruiz Jr., 29
Aristides Ruiz Jr., a 29-year-old Latinomale, died Tuesday, Oct. 8, after being shot in East Hollywood, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.
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Sawandi Toussaint, 21
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Reginald Davis, 57
Reginald Davis, a 57-year-old blackmale, died Sunday, Oct. 13, in Long Beach, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.
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Michael Phillip Uccello, 48
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Investigators renew reward in 2017 Monrovia shooting that killed 'a true innocent victim'
Oscar Garcia, an aspiring photographer and high school senior, was just hanging out with two friends the night of April 22, 2017, in the Monrovia garage outside one friend's home, when a tall Latino with a thin mustache-goatee burst into the garage, exchanged a few words and began shooting.
Garcia, 18, was killed by the bullets that seriously injured his male friend in the 100 block of West Cypress Avenue. His female friend was unharmed.
It was the first homicide in Monrovia since June 2015. The quiet, shady street where Garcia died sits behind a modern business park, and signs outside several homes urge motorists to "drive as though your children live here."
Now more than two years later, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has renewed a $20,000 reward for information about the shooter, in the hope that someone will recognize the shooter and come forward, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Det. Scott Matlock.
Garcia "was a true innocent victim," Matlock said. "There are people who live a lifestyle that causes them to be murder victims, and he wasn’t one of them. I believe he was shot in a case of mistaken identity, by someone who was looking for a gang member. Oscar was not a gang member. He was just a good kid in the wrong place at the wrong time."
A reward was first offered in September 2017, but it expired after 90 days and no leads, Matlock said. He got busy with other homicides, he said, but couldn't let go of the Garcia case. He hopes renewing the reward will produce enough information to find the gunman.
Garcia grew up in Monrovia and played soccer at Canyon Oaks High School. After graduation in June, he planned to attend Pasadena City College and study photography.
He was the second youngest of six children raised by their single mother, Guadalupe Castañeda, who spoke through tears about her son during a news conference in May 2017, asking for the shooter to come forward.
“I don’t want any other mother to go through this," she said. "No family deserves to go through this."
She described her son as a loving, “extraordinary kid,” who would “always go the extra mile to care for us. He loved skateboarding. That was his passion and that’s how he made a lot of friends,” she said. “He used it as a way to bring peace and love to the community.”
Anyone with information should call the sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
Photo: Investigators have renewed a $20,000 reward in the hope of finding the man who fatally shot 18-year-old Oscar Garcia on April 22, 2017. The man, a sketch of whom is shown, is described as a light-skinned Latino, about 6 feet tall and medium build, with brown eyes, short black hair, a thin mustache and goatee and a black baseball-type cap with an unknown logo. The drawing was provided by the L.A. County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau.
Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.
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Ricardo Medina, 41
Ricardo Medina, a 41-year-old Latinomale, died Friday, Oct. 11, after being stabbed in South El Monte, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.
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Antonio Centeno Rodriguez, 52
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Marvey Alfaituli, 54
Marvey Alfaituli, a 54-year-old male, died Tuesday, Oct. 15, after being shot in Long Beach, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.
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Samuel Alejandro Estrada, 41
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Lasseri James Frazier Jr., 21
Lasseri James Frazier Jr., a 21-year-old blackmale, died Wednesday, Oct. 16, after being shot in Sherman Oaks, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.
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Wesley Drakes, 42
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Javier Villagrana, 50
Javier Villagrana, a 50-year-old Latinomale, died Saturday, Oct. 19, in Willowbrook, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.
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Jose Lopez, 23
Jose Lopez, a 23-year-old Latinomale, died Friday, Oct. 18, in North Hills, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.
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Man sentenced to 21 years in prison in 2017 Blue Line shooting
A 22-year-old man was sentenced to 21 years in prison Thursday in the fatal shooting of a man nearly two years ago at the Compton Metro Blue Line station.
A jury on Sept. 12 convicted Arthur Lee Lewis of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of Travon Brown Jr., 21. The jury also found gun allegations against Lewis to be true.
The shooting occurred around 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, 2017. Lewis and his stepbrother Eric Roberts, 23, exited the Metro Blue Line train at the Compton station, yelling gang names and asking people what gang they belonged to, according to prosecutors and witness testimony at trial.
The duo approached Brown, Deputy Dist. Atty. Luke Sisak said, and a fight ensued. Roberts threw the first punch, Sisak said.
“These two guys went out looking for trouble, looking for violence, knowing they were going to use the gun,” Sisak said. “They did find it at the platform.”
Defense attorneys argued that Lewis was being attacked and was acting in self defense when he shot Brown.
Brown was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood at around 4:30 p.m., according to coroner’s records.
Lewis and Roberts were both charged with murder eight days later. Their mother, Dupresa Paxton, 48, and her husband, Norman Johnson, 45, were arrested in February 2018 on suspicion of hiding the two brothers, Sisak said.
Paxton and Johnson pleaded no contest to accessory after the fact, and were each sentenced to one year in county jail and five years of probation.
Roberts was acquitted of the murder charge in a jury trial.
Before a judge handed down Lewis’ sentence, Brown’s family members described their loss.
“I can’t explain to my daughter what happened to her uncle,” said Latina Easley, 26, Brown’s older sister. “He had his own place, he was going places.”
About a month prior to the shooting, Brown had moved out of his aunt’s house in Boyle Heights. With her help, he rented an apartment nearby and had started working at a warehouse in Downey.
“We haven’t celebrated a single Christmas or Thanksgiving since he died,” said Tomeshia Easley, 38, Brown’s aunt. “Our family is dead.”
Browns mother, Tina Easley, told the court that she has found support among other families who have suffered a violent loss. And being involved with violence-reduction organizations such as United in Peace has helped her cope with the loss of her son, allowing her to take life day by day, she said.
“I try to tell my story, because I’m the one getting justice,” she said. ”You can’t say that for a lot of other families.”
Eight family members spoke about Brown in court, including his cousins Makalyn Barnes, 15, and Kalajah Barnes,13.
“I just want to get him back,” Kalajah said.
Six more family members watched from the gallery, including Brown’s father and Brown's 2-year-old niece.
Also in the gallery was Paxton, the mother of the defendant, who periodically left the courtroom weeping, with her face covered under her red sweatshirt.
After Brown's family members spoke, she gave her own statement to the judge.
“My tears are not for my kids, it’s for you guys,” she said to the Brown family. “I wish all the killing would stop. I hurt for you and cry for you.”
Lewis sat in the courtroom, keeping his head down, but periodically looked up at Brown's family members when they spoke.
“I love my mother and she did the best she could,” Lewis said to the judge. “I lost my dad before I turned 5, so I know their pain and I know what they’re going through. I don’t wish this upon nobody.”
When Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Pat Connolly sentenced Lewis, he said he appreciated the kind words from Paxton, but gave Lewis the maximum sentence allowed by law.
“You went there armed,” Connolly told Lewis. “You are the one who caused this. ”
Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @latimeshomicide on Twitter.
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Dominador Araquel Rabot, 55
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Manuel Eugenio Marquez, 44
Manuel Eugenio Marquez, a 44-year-old male, died Wednesday, Oct. 23, in Long Beach, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.
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Delfon Garnell Kinney Sr., 48
Delfon Garnell Kinney Sr., a 48-year-old male, died Wednesday, Oct. 23, in Long Beach, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records. The cause of death is pending.
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