Gang Violence in County Leaves 6 Dead

Gang violence that included a fatal knife fight at a “Sweet 16” party and seven drive-by shootings left six people dead and five others wounded during the weekend, law enforcement officials said Sunday.

The violence occurred throughout the county, with incidents reported in west Valinda, Lincoln and Boyle Heights, Koreatown, South and West Los Angeles, Lennox, and Norwalk.

In Valinda, Migel Cruz, 21, was stabbed to death in a Saturday night brawl that broke out after several reputed gang members “crashed a sweet 16 party” at 1402 Millbury Ave., deputy Chris Wahla said.

Guest Is Stabbed

Cruz, a party guest, was stabbed once in the chest in a fight that erupted outside the house. He was taken to Terrace Plaza Medical Center, where he died a short time later, Wahla said. Two other guests--Azael Martinez, 18, and his brother Obed, 19--were treated at the hospital for minor stab wounds.

“There is no indication that either the victims or the host of the party were involved in gang activity,” Wahla said. No arrests were made, he added.

However, police said they believe gang rivalry led to the shooting deaths of two suspected gang members and the wounding of another in apparently unrelated drive-by shootings within a one-square-mile area in Lincoln Heights and Boyle Heights.

Timothy Simos, 19, was standing in Lincoln Park near Valley Boulevard with several friends about midnight Saturday when he was hit by gunfire from a passing car, officer Frank DiPaola said.

Triggered by Dispute

A bullet struck Simos in the head. He died ten hours later at County-USC Medical Center. DiPaola said that the attack appeared to have been provoked by an earlier dispute between gang members. He would not elaborate.

Two hours earlier, Alfred Raya, 20, was standing on a sidewalk at Avenue 19 and Albion Street, when he was hit in the chest and abdomen by a volley of bullets from a car carrying rival gang members, DiPaola said. Raya died 30 minutes later at the medical center.

And at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, an unidentified man received minor injuries in a drive-by attack in the 200 block of North Chicago Street in Boyle Heights, Sgt. Gary MacNamara said. The victim was taken to White Memorial Hospital, treated for a chest wound and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

In Norwalk, a sheriff’s deputy was injured by a reputed gang member who lunged at him with a beer bottle as deputies tried to break up a noisy party at Horst Avenue and Cedarville Street. Ralph Gonzalez, 23, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a dangerous weapon, Deputy Gabe Ramirez said.

Koreatown Death

In Koreatown, Herman Lazo, 22, a suspected gang member, was killed in a drive-by attack as he stood outside an apartment at 749 S. Catalina St., DiPaola said. An unidentified 18-year-old friend was hit in the leg and taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was treated and released.

On Friday, Jeffrey Simmons, 21, and Susan Bradley, 26, died in separate drive-by shootings. Bradley was killed when she was caught in the cross fire of two rival gangs who opened fire on one another from their cars in West Los Angeles. Simmons was killed in South Los Angeles when a car pulled up to the pickup truck he was driving and fired several rounds into the cab, striking Simmons, but missing two passengers.

Last year 387 people died in gang violence in Los Angeles County. By the end of last month, 245 deaths had been reported, officials said.