Man Shot Dead in An Apparent Robbery

LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
Monday, February 7, 2000
MAN SHOT DEAD IN AN APPARENT ROBBERY

On Wednesday, February 2, 2000, at 9:45 p.m., a robbery occurred inside a 7-11 Store located at 20519 Roscoe Boulevard in Devonshire Area. The suspect followed a customer inside the location and demanded her purse at gunpoint. The victim relinquished her purse and the suspect fled the establishment on foot. The suspect was described as a male, Black.

At 9:56 p.m., Devonshire Area officers responded to a 911 call regarding an "Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Shots Fired" in the 20900 block of Roscoe Boulevard in Van Nuys. Officers arrived at the location in less than one minute and found a male victim lying motionless in a shopping center parking lot, situated on the northwest corner of Roscoe Boulevard and Desoto Avenue. This location is one-half mile west of the 7-11 store at 20519 Roscoe Boulevard. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded and attempted to render first aid; however, the victim expired at the scene. Witnesses described seeing a male, Black flee westbound on Roscoe Boulevard in a white vehicle. The motive for the slaying appeared to be Robbery.

Devonshire Community Police Station, Homicide Detectives responded to Roscoe Boulevard and Desoto Avenue in order to process the crime scene.

At 12:05 a.m. on Monday, February 7, 2000, a 911 call emanated from another 7-11 Store, located at 21618 Roscoe Boulevard in the West Valley Area. Officers responded to the location and determined that a male, Black had committed an Armed Robbery of the store. An undisclosed amount of money was stolen at gunpoint from the lone clerk. This 7-11 store is approximately one-half mile west of the murder scene at Roscoe Boulevard and Desoto Avenue.

Based on the close proximity of the three Robbery locations, and the similar descriptions of the suspect, investigators believed the crimes may have been committed by the same suspect. The suspect is described as a male, Black, weighing 160 to 190 pounds, between 25 to 35 years of age. Witnesses have indicated that the suspect had a shaved head and was armed with a handgun.

The murder victim is an unidentified male, Hispanic, approximately 35-40 years of age. He sustained one gunshot wound to the upper body. Devonshire Homicide Detectives are collectively handling these investigations. The Detectives are attempting to locate additional witnesses and have reviewed video footage acquired from the 7-11’s. Upon reviewing the video footage from the security camera in the 7-11 Stores, Devonshire Homicide Detectives have obtained 4 still photographs of the suspect. These still photos will be available for the media today at a press conference in front of Devonshire Community Police Station, 10250 Etiwanda Avenue in Northridge at 4:00 p.m. Members of the Devonshire Homicide Detective Unit will be present during the news conference.

For further inquiries contact Media Relations Section at 213-485-3586.

For Release 4:40 pm PST
February 7, 2000