Witness Says Accused Killer of Officer Shot Him, Too

A street gang member told a San Fernando municipal judge Wednesday that he was shot in the stomach by fellow gang member Louis Belvin Jr. last May, a month before Belvin allegedly killed a Los Angeles police officer.

Jerry Kimbrough, 19, of South-Central Los Angeles, testified that Belvin pointed a gun at him and cocked it during a dispute over ownership of a cassette. He said Belvin shot him, even though Kimbrough had agreed to relinquish the cassette.

Belvin, 18, and co-defendant Thomas Lee Mixon, 19, both of South-Central Los Angeles, are charged with killing Officer James H. Pagliotti in Sylmar on June 22 and with beating a man earlier that night. Belvin also is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of Kimbrough May 19.

The preliminary hearing on the charges is being held in San Fernando before Municipal Judge Gregg Marcus because Pagliotti was killed in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Daniel A. Lenhart said outside the courtroom that the shooting of Kimbrough demonstrates that Belvin is “a violent person.”

“It doesn’t take much to set him off,” Lenhart said.

Belvin’s attorney, Fritzie Galliani, said Kimbrough believed the shooting was accidental and did not press charges until Belvin was arrested for killing Pagliotti almost a month later.

Kimbrough testified he does not know if Belvin intended to shoot him. The shooting purportedly took place in Belvin’s parked car in South-Central Los Angeles. Kimbrough said Belvin accompanied him to the hospital and visited him there while he recovered.

Belvin and Mixon are charged with one count each of murder, conspiracy to sell cocaine, selling cocaine and assault.

The complaint alleges they went to Astoria Street and Bromont Avenue in Sylmar to sell cocaine and sold some to James Christie, 27, of Sylmar. Christie testified Wednesday that he was dissatisfied with the quality of the drug and tried to return it.

Mixon and Belvin then beat Christie, according to the complaint. Later in the evening, Pagliotti, who was watching a burglary suspect, saw Belvin with a handgun and confronted him, the complaint said.

According to a statement made to police that has been added to the court file, Mixon said Pagliotti, who was in plainclothes, identified himself as a police officer. The statement also quotes Mixon as saying he and Belvin are members of the Bloods and that Belvin always carries a gun “when we sell dope.”

Belvin and Mixon, who have pleaded not guilty to all charges, are being held without bail in County Jail. The hearing is scheduled to resume April 5.