Robbery Case, Not Politics : Man Arrested in Death of Arab-American Activist

Police arrested a suspected gang member Wednesday in connection with the killing of an Arab-American activist during an attempted robbery May 2 outside the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation laboratory.

Mario Alvarez, 21, was taken into custody at his home near Elysian Park about 7:05 a.m. on suspicion of murder in the death of Awni Rayyis. Rayyis, 59, had just delivered some samples of waste material to the laboratory north of Chinatown and was walking back to his car when Alvarez confronted him, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates said.

Alvarez became impatient when Rayyis didn’t respond to his demands quickly enough and shot Rayyis twice in the upper torso before he fled in a stolen car, Gates said. Rayyis staggered 60 feet back into the laboratory and collapsed in front of his co-workers. He died during surgery at County-USC Medical Center.

Cmdr. William Booth said Alvarez’s arrest “puts to rest” any notion that Rayyis’ death was related to his job as a senior waste inspector or was in any way politically motivated because of his activity in the Palestinian community.

Physical evidence in the stolen vehicle found a few blocks away from the laboratory on Dorris Place and information that “came from the streets” led police to Alvarez, a known gang member whose street name is “Joker,” Booth said.

“This was just an opportunistic attempt to rob a man,” Booth said.