2 Killed, 2 Wounded in Gun Battle Over Drugs

Two men were killed and two others wounded in an apparently drug-related gun battle in Wilmington that left “bodies, guns and bullets all over the place,” Los Angeles police reported Tuesday.

Detective Larry Kallestad said four vehicles containing at least seven people drove into a liquor store parking lot about 9 p.m. Monday in “what appears to be some sort of drug transaction that went bad. . . .”

“It appears that one of them may have attempted to pose as a police officer,” Kallestad said. “That’s when all the gunfire started.”

The liquor store owner and several customers ducked for cover inside the store as at least 18 shots were fired, the detective said.

One of the uninjured suspects picked up a package--believed to contain drugs--that had been dropped on the pavement before two of the cars and a van sped away, Kallestad said.

The body of Wilfredo Torres, 49, of Wilmington was found slumped behind the wheel of a third car, which jumped the curb during the shoot-out and slammed into a building across the street, Lt. Ted Oglesby said.

The body of Blando Ruiz, 34, whose address was not immediately available, was left in the parking lot.

One of the wounded men, whose names were being withheld by police, was also left lying in the parking lot. Kallestad said the other wounded man was found in a street about eight blocks away, where he apparently was dumped by his fleeing associates.