Man in Trench Coat Sought in Fatal Shooting

Sheriff’s detectives said they have few clues in the Christmas Eve slaying of a 20-year-old man in Rolling Hills Estates--the first homicide in the upscale community in at least 10 years.

The only potential suspect is a mysterious man in a trench coat who appeared for a few moments in the shopping center parking lot where the killing occurred, said Mike Robinson, sheriff’s homicide detective.

“It’s a real whodunit,” Robinson said. “We are following a couple of leads, but nothing that is real solid at this point.”

The identity of the dead man has not been made public, pending notification of his parents in Mexico. Authorities would say only that the victim was a Mexican national who had been visiting the United States and staying in Glendale.

Robinson said the victim drove from Glendale last Saturday to meet his girlfriend near the Peninsula Center shopping mall.

The two planned to attend a party at a friend’s house, but the man was shot about 6:15 p.m. as he drove alone through a parking lot near a Burger King restaurant, Robinson said.

Authorities declined to say how many times the victim was shot or to reveal the caliber of the weapon.

The victim apparently tried to flee from his white Mercury Cougar but collapsed a few feet away, Robinson said. He was pronounced dead about half an hour later at Torrance Memorial Hospital Medical Center.

The shooting may have been obscured by rain, Robinson said. “There should have been more witnesses.”

But there were just two.

One patron at the shopping mall heard the pop of gunshots, found the man’s body by the side of the car and called paramedics. Another passer-by reported seeing a man of average build, wearing a tan trench coat, standing near the front of the Mercury. The man in the trench coat was gone by the time deputies arrived, Robinson said.

“He might have been involved or he might be a witness who just doesn’t want to come forward,” Robinson said.

Authorities said robbery was not a motive, since $200 was found on the victim’s body. The young man was apparently not involved in gangs or drugs, standard elements in many slayings, Robinson said.

Murders are unusual on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and, in particular, in Rolling Hills Estates. The Lomita Sheriff’s Station, which patrols three of the four peninsula cities, has recorded no more than one or two homicides a year on the peninsula, and none in Rolling Hills Estates for at least 10 years.