Biker Held in 3 Shooting Deaths

A black-clad motorcyclist from Arcadia was arrested Monday as he sped away from the West Covina neighborhood where two men and a woman had been shot to death in what police said appeared to be a “coldblooded” act of execution.

“We really have no idea as yet about a possible motive in this case,” West Covina Police Lt. Dave Leonard said. “But the physical evidence seems to rule out a spur-of-the-moment incident. This was a coldblooded act by someone who was determined to execute all three.”

Officers arriving to investigate a report of shots fired found a man and a woman shot to death in the breezeway of a residence at 1109 South Sandy Hook St. and followed a trail of blood to another house two doors south, where they found a man shot to death in the kitchen.

Reconstructing the event with the help of witnesses, Leonard said it appeared that all three were initially shot after an argument in the kitchen of the house where one body was found. The gunman then apparently pursued his fleeing victims to the other house where he opened fire a second time, killing them both, Leonard said.

Two witnesses who live nearby said they saw a man “dressed all in black” walk hurriedly from the murder scene, mount a black motorcycle and roar away at high speed.

Police broadcast their description of suspect and a West Covina officer arrested a motorcyclist identified as Brian Lawrence Snoke, 23, a few blocks from the scene.

The two dead men were identified as Scott Edward Hotson, 24, and Robert M. Green, 23, both of Arcadia. The woman’s identity was withheld pending notification of her family.