Man held in West Hollywood triple slaying

A 31-year-old man was arrested Monday in connection with a triple homicide last week in West Hollywood, a case investigators say involves the robbery of several pounds of marijuana.

Harold Yong Park of East Hollywood was taken into custody Monday after he was pulled over in an area patrolled by the L.A. County sheriff’s Lomita station, the department said.

His vehicle was identified by an automated license plate recognition system in the patrol car. Detectives had developed leads and staked out the area where the arrest was made.

The three men were shot and killed late Thursday night in an apartment in the 600 block of North Kings Road.

The slaying shocked neighbors in the normally quiet neighborhood, which is a short walk from trendy Melrose Avenue.

At the time of his arrest, Park had several pounds of marijuana in his vehicle, authorities said.

“It is believed the marijuana may have been taken by Park from the West Hollywood apartment following the murders,” sheriff’s Lt. Pat Nelson said.

Authorities said robbery was the motive for the slayings.

The three men may have been buying marijuana from dispensaries and reselling the drug to others, Nelson said.

The victims were identified as Pirooz Moussazadeh, 27; his brother, Shahriar Moussazadeh, 38; and Bernard Khalili, 27.

Several neighbors said the 28-unit apartment building is filled with immigrants from Iran, Israel, Poland and Russia.

They said there was a high turnover of tenants in the building.

Park was interviewed by investigators after he was pulled over and was booked on suspicion of murder.

He was being held at the Lomita sheriff’s station.

Nelson credited detectives and investigators with the sheriff’s crime lab for coming up with the leads that led to Park’s arrest.

“The people of West Hollywood can rest easily tonight,” he said.

richard.winton@latimes.com

robert.lopez@latimes.com