3 Men Slain in Apparent Cocaine Deal
Three men were shot to death late Tuesday night when an apparent drug deal at a Monterey Park motel turned violent, police said.
The bodies of two men were found in a ground-floor room at the Best Western Monterey Park Inn on Atlantic Boulevard near the intersection of Emerson Avenue. The third man was found on a sidewalk in front of a used car lot next to the motel. Witnesses said the man had staggered out of the motel and flagged down a passing car for help. The motorist drove off as the gunmen chased the wounded man into the used car lot and shot him again.
Police were seeking two men who were seen fleeing the area in a silver BMW sedan shortly before midnight.
Police said they found four kilograms of cocaine in a room located near the front entrance of the motel. Although investigators believe the shootings were related to a cocaine deal, they do not know whether the three victims were buying or selling drugs.
The victims were identified as Tenoa Leonard Stevenson, 26, of Altadena; Albert Brown, 24, of Pasadena, and Landis Barnes, 20, no address listed.
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