Boy, 15, Fatally Shot In Gang-Related Drive-By
cbs2.com
July 09, 2006
A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Long Beach and four people have been detained as possible suspects in the suspected gang-related attack.
The shooting occurred about 12:30 a.m. near Pine Avenue and 1st Street.
The boy was with a group of people "just walking up and down Pine Avenue like thousands of folks do each night" when a vehicle drove up and someone inside fired shots into the group, said Long Beach police Sgt. David Cannan.
"We had officers in the area. They spotted the car and ended up detaining four people," he said, adding at least one person "bailed out" of the vehicle while officers were attempting to stop the suspects' vehicle.
Cannan said authorities were looking for at least two more people.
http://www.topix.net/content/cbs/233299 ... 1761697392
Long Beach: Boy, 15, Fatally Shot In Gang-Related Drive-By
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Christina Marie
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Christina Marie
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Boy, 15, Is Shot to Death; Four Suspects Arrested
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
July 10, 2006
Police have arrested four people, suspected of being gang members, in connection with a drive-by shooting early Sunday that left a 15-year-old San Pedro boy dead.
The boy, whose name has not been released, was walking with other males in their teens and early 20s at 1st Street and Pine Avenue, police Sgt. David Cannan said.
About 12:30 a.m., a car drove up to where the group was standing, words were exchanged, and as the boy walked toward the car, someone within it fired a shot that hit him in the upper torso, Cannan said.
Police spotted the car and detained four suspects, who range in age from 17 to 20. At least one other person left the car and was still being sought.
The victim was pronounced dead at a hospital. Cannan said the boy was not thought to have been a gang member, though he was believed to have known at least some of the suspects.
Cannan said detectives had not determined a motive for the slaying, other than "gang members doing what they do — it's really just senseless."
http://ktla.trb.com/news/local/la-me-br ... ewslocal-1
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
July 10, 2006
Police have arrested four people, suspected of being gang members, in connection with a drive-by shooting early Sunday that left a 15-year-old San Pedro boy dead.
The boy, whose name has not been released, was walking with other males in their teens and early 20s at 1st Street and Pine Avenue, police Sgt. David Cannan said.
About 12:30 a.m., a car drove up to where the group was standing, words were exchanged, and as the boy walked toward the car, someone within it fired a shot that hit him in the upper torso, Cannan said.
Police spotted the car and detained four suspects, who range in age from 17 to 20. At least one other person left the car and was still being sought.
The victim was pronounced dead at a hospital. Cannan said the boy was not thought to have been a gang member, though he was believed to have known at least some of the suspects.
Cannan said detectives had not determined a motive for the slaying, other than "gang members doing what they do — it's really just senseless."
http://ktla.trb.com/news/local/la-me-br ... ewslocal-1
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Christina Marie
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Suspect in Long Beach Slaying Arrested at Border
By Stuart Silverstein, Times Staff Writer
July 11, 2006
A Long Beach man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the drive-by shooting of a 15-year-old boy from San Pedro, authorities said.
Cesario Vasquez, 18, was picked up by U.S. and Mexican authorities while trying to cross the border into Tijuana.
Sgt. David Cannan of the Long Beach Police Department said investigators believe Vasquez fired the single shot that killed Brian Cruz early Sunday.
Cruz was struck in the upper part of his body about 12:30 a.m. while walking in the area of Pine Avenue and 1st Street in downtown Long Beach with a group of relatives and friends.
Cruz had finished his first night of work at a nearby restaurant earlier Saturday evening and had just gone out to another eatery with his companions when the shooting occurred.
Cannan said Vasquez was a passenger in the front seat of a car containing five young males who pulled alongside Cruz and exchanged words with him. Police arrested four of the occupants, but Vasquez had eluded authorities until being stopped at the border Sunday night.
Cannan said police released the other four suspects and Vasquez will be the only one to face charges in the shooting. No arraignment has been scheduled.
Cannan said police still are trying to determine the motive for the slaying. They say Vasquez and the others in the car have gang affiliations, but investigators don't think the killing was related to gang activity.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state ... news-state
By Stuart Silverstein, Times Staff Writer
July 11, 2006
A Long Beach man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the drive-by shooting of a 15-year-old boy from San Pedro, authorities said.
Cesario Vasquez, 18, was picked up by U.S. and Mexican authorities while trying to cross the border into Tijuana.
Sgt. David Cannan of the Long Beach Police Department said investigators believe Vasquez fired the single shot that killed Brian Cruz early Sunday.
Cruz was struck in the upper part of his body about 12:30 a.m. while walking in the area of Pine Avenue and 1st Street in downtown Long Beach with a group of relatives and friends.
Cruz had finished his first night of work at a nearby restaurant earlier Saturday evening and had just gone out to another eatery with his companions when the shooting occurred.
Cannan said Vasquez was a passenger in the front seat of a car containing five young males who pulled alongside Cruz and exchanged words with him. Police arrested four of the occupants, but Vasquez had eluded authorities until being stopped at the border Sunday night.
Cannan said police released the other four suspects and Vasquez will be the only one to face charges in the shooting. No arraignment has been scheduled.
Cannan said police still are trying to determine the motive for the slaying. They say Vasquez and the others in the car have gang affiliations, but investigators don't think the killing was related to gang activity.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state ... news-state
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Christina Marie
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Shooting Raises Concerns
About Pine Area
By Kurt Helin
Editor
A shooting in the heart of downtown last weekend left one youth dead and reignited a debate about safety in an area with growing and diverse nightlife.
Department of Immigration officers nabbed the suspected shooter two days later near the Mexico border.
The incident occurred at 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning (Saturday night) near the corner of Pine Avenue and First Street. Five people “cruising” in a car northbound on Pine started a verbal altercation with a family walking up the street, according to police spokesman Sgt. David Cannan.
A teen, 15 year-old Brian Cruz of San Pedro, started to walk over to the car. When he got close, he was shot once in the face, according to the police report. He was rushed to an area hospital, but did not survive the attack, police said.
Cruz was a newly hired busboy in a downtown eatery, according to reports, and was not affiliated with any gangs, Cannan said. However, the people in the car were gang members, he added.
Detectives James Richardson and Don Goodman were on foot patrol nearby and seconds after the shooting broadcast a description and part of the license plate of the car, then chased the suspect car on foot, according to the police report.
Other officers intercepted the car at Fourth Street and the Promenade and were able to arrest four of the five people in the car, however one suspect got away on foot.
That was 18 year-old Cesario Vasquez of Long Beach, the alleged shooter, who police later learned may try to flee to Mexico. That’s apparently what he did as officers were able to arrest him at the border.
He has been brought back and is currently in the Long Beach city jail. He has confessed to the crime, police said.
After a string of incidents last year — which alarmed business owners and drove away some patrons — the downtown resident and business community pushed for more police protection for an area that is supposed to be a draw for tourists.
Concerns about safety were a key part of negotiations for an “entertainment district” on Pine that started earlier this year. While much of the talk was about hours, at the heart of the deal for business owners was getting a larger police presence on the street downtown on weekend nights.
They got it, with money coming from the Redevelopment Agency, despite mumblings from some City Council members.
“The fact that we have not had too many incidents since the program started shows it is having some effect,” Cannan said. “Our only concern is this is being done with overtime (pay).”
The council also approved money for a camera system that would have 17 cameras looking at Pine Avenue with the images beamed to a control center monitored by police. The goal is to allow the officers watching the bank of screens to direct officers to areas where trouble may be brewing before it starts.
However, that system likely will not be up and running until next month,
One other idea that came out of previous safety discussions for Pine Avenue was talk of blocking off a stretch of Pine on weekend nights. This would eliminate the “cruising” that goes on now and create a more pedestrian-friendly environment, backers said.
Currently the city is conducting a traffic study to see what the impacts on traffic flow would be by blocking off the street. Depending on what that study finds, city officials have said they would consider a pilot program of blocking off the streets. However, money to pay for it would have to be found, they added.
http://www.gazettes.com/pine7132006.html
About Pine Area
By Kurt Helin
Editor
A shooting in the heart of downtown last weekend left one youth dead and reignited a debate about safety in an area with growing and diverse nightlife.
Department of Immigration officers nabbed the suspected shooter two days later near the Mexico border.
The incident occurred at 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning (Saturday night) near the corner of Pine Avenue and First Street. Five people “cruising” in a car northbound on Pine started a verbal altercation with a family walking up the street, according to police spokesman Sgt. David Cannan.
A teen, 15 year-old Brian Cruz of San Pedro, started to walk over to the car. When he got close, he was shot once in the face, according to the police report. He was rushed to an area hospital, but did not survive the attack, police said.
Cruz was a newly hired busboy in a downtown eatery, according to reports, and was not affiliated with any gangs, Cannan said. However, the people in the car were gang members, he added.
Detectives James Richardson and Don Goodman were on foot patrol nearby and seconds after the shooting broadcast a description and part of the license plate of the car, then chased the suspect car on foot, according to the police report.
Other officers intercepted the car at Fourth Street and the Promenade and were able to arrest four of the five people in the car, however one suspect got away on foot.
That was 18 year-old Cesario Vasquez of Long Beach, the alleged shooter, who police later learned may try to flee to Mexico. That’s apparently what he did as officers were able to arrest him at the border.
He has been brought back and is currently in the Long Beach city jail. He has confessed to the crime, police said.
After a string of incidents last year — which alarmed business owners and drove away some patrons — the downtown resident and business community pushed for more police protection for an area that is supposed to be a draw for tourists.
Concerns about safety were a key part of negotiations for an “entertainment district” on Pine that started earlier this year. While much of the talk was about hours, at the heart of the deal for business owners was getting a larger police presence on the street downtown on weekend nights.
They got it, with money coming from the Redevelopment Agency, despite mumblings from some City Council members.
“The fact that we have not had too many incidents since the program started shows it is having some effect,” Cannan said. “Our only concern is this is being done with overtime (pay).”
The council also approved money for a camera system that would have 17 cameras looking at Pine Avenue with the images beamed to a control center monitored by police. The goal is to allow the officers watching the bank of screens to direct officers to areas where trouble may be brewing before it starts.
However, that system likely will not be up and running until next month,
One other idea that came out of previous safety discussions for Pine Avenue was talk of blocking off a stretch of Pine on weekend nights. This would eliminate the “cruising” that goes on now and create a more pedestrian-friendly environment, backers said.
Currently the city is conducting a traffic study to see what the impacts on traffic flow would be by blocking off the street. Depending on what that study finds, city officials have said they would consider a pilot program of blocking off the streets. However, money to pay for it would have to be found, they added.
http://www.gazettes.com/pine7132006.html
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Christina Marie
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