3 Slayings, Shootings Mar Weekend in L.A.

A 19-year-old pregnant woman described by police as a known associate of gang members was shot in the back and wounded late Saturday, one of several victims in a spate of violent incidents over the weekend in the Los Angeles area.

The woman, identified by Bell-Cudahy police as Marleen Garcia, was in the parking lot of the Florentine Apartments at 4922 E. Florence Ave. at 11:05 p.m., when members of a Cudahy gang approached and shouted their gang name, Sgt. Tony Dannan said.

One of the gang members opened fire with a small-caliber handgun, hitting Garcia at least once, Dannan said.

Three juveniles were arrested later and booked into Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey on suspicion of attempted murder. Their names were not released.

Garcia, who is 3 1/2-months pregnant, was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where she was in stable condition Sunday.

Dannan said Garcia was in an area known for drug sales and prostitution when she was shot. The motive for the shooting was not immediately known.

Meanwhile, police in Inglewood arrested two people after the death early Sunday of a 24-year-old Culver City man who was shot in the face while attending a party in the 500 block of East Hyde Park Place.

Sgt. William Siddall said the victim, identified as Deric Singleton, argued with Kirk Terry and Rodney King, both 21, at the party. Siddall alleged that Terry shot Singleton once with a large-caliber handgun.

Singleton was declared dead at the scene at 12:20 a.m. Terry and King were later arrested on suspicion of murder, Siddall said. Terry was taken to the Los Angeles County Central Jail; King was being held in Inglewood. Siddall said the shooting was not gang-related.

“It was just a party that turned sour,” he said.

In other incidents this weekend:

* Rodney Jones, 35, was shot in the head and killed Saturday morning as he and a companion walked in the 1400 block of East 43rd Place in South-Central Los Angeles. Investigators were not sure whether the fatal shot came from a passing car or from an assailant on foot. It was not immediately known whether the incident was gang-related.

* An unidentified man in his 30s was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and declared brain dead after being shot by a man who witnesses said was wearing a black miniskirt. The assailant, described as 5 feet, 11 inches tall and about 30 years old, fled on Detroit Street, south of Wilshire Boulevard, after the shooting at 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Police said they had no motive for the shooting.

* A 37-year-old man was shot in his left arm, possibly by a passing motorist, as he stood in front of a liquor store at Avalon Boulevard and 46th Street in Central Los Angeles at 10:35 p.m. Saturday. Police officers said they did not know if the incident was gang-related. They did not identify the victim.

* A 23-year-old man was hospitalized in stable condition after being wounded in a drive-by shooting as he stood at a pay phone at Hooper Avenue and Adams Boulevard in Central Los Angeles. The incident occurred at 11:25 p.m. Saturday. Police did not identify the victim or the nature of his wound. They said they did not know if the shooting was gang-related.