Shooting at Strip Club Leaves One Dead NR11323kr

Los Angeles: A dispute between two men turned deadly late Friday night inside an adult entertainment club.

On July 15, 2011, at about 10 p.m., a shooting was reported inside The VIP Showgirls Club in the 12100 block of Victory Boulevard. When officers arrived shortly after the shooting they found a man down inside the club, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Detectives believe the victim, 30-year-old Thomas Valdez of Santa Clarita, and the suspect, 30-year-old Forte Ramonta of North Hollywood, became involved in an altercation and Forte drew a gun and shot Valdez multiple times. Forte ran from the location with his girlfriend, an employee of the club, 22-year-old Anna Baez.  Both were quickly detained by officers in a nearby park.

Ramonta has been booked for Murder and is being held on $1 million bail. Baez was booked for Accessory to Murder and is being held on $500,000.00 bail.

Los Angeles City Fire Department personnel responded to the incident and pronounced Valdez dead at scene.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the LAPD North Hollywood Homicide Detectives Mark O’Donnell or Steve Castro at 818-623-4075. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7.  Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).  Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone.  All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.”  Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.