Local News in Brief : Drug Dealer Killed; 3 Held
A drug dealer was shot to death in Venice early Thursday and three gang members were arrested on suspicion of murder less than an hour later, Los Angeles police said.
The victim, Billy Preston, 27, was in the Oakwood area of Venice shortly after midnight when the three men pulled up in a car and one of them got out and fired several shots, hitting Preston in the side, Detective Bill Humphry said.
Preston was taken to Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital, where he died about three hours later.
Santa Monica police, after being provided a description of the suspects’ vehicle by witnesses, stopped the men about 45 minutes after the shooting, Detective William Thurston said.
Arrested were Tony Richmond, 18, Melvin Sloan, 25, and a 17-year-old whose name was not released. All were held without bail at the Pacific Division jail.
Preston was a narcotics dealer and a gang associate, but it was not immediately known what triggered his killing, Humphry said.
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