Man Dies of Beating by Baseball Bat

Memorial Day weekend mayhem in Los Angeles County claimed the lives of four people, including one man beaten to death with a baseball bat outside a Compton bar and another accidentally shot by a friend who had been drinking during an overnight camp-out.

In other unrelated violence, two youthful gang members in a pickup truck fired more than a dozen shots at sheriff’s deputies attempting to stop them for running a red light, and two car thieves tried to run down another sheriff’s deputy, who fired three shots at them as he dove out of the way.

In Compton, Police Lt. Al Smith said Jose Britos, 26, and a friend were walking to Las Palomas bar in the 700 block of West Alondra Boulevard when two strangers approached them and began beating them with baseball bats.

Britos was pronounced dead in the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center. The other man was not severely injured. No arrests have been made.

Playing With Rifle

The camping death occurred after five friends who had been drinking heavily during an overnight trip near Littlerock Dam in the Angeles National Forest began playing with a .22-caliber rifle.

Drew MacDonald, 21, of La Canada thought the weapon was unloaded when he pointed it at others and pulled the trigger, hitting La Canada resident Robert Gladysz, 21, in the neck, killing him, according to Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Wahla. MacDonald has been booked on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter.

A neighborhood argument early Saturday apparently triggered another shooting death in the 4000 block of Marathon Street at the edge of the Silver Lake district, Los Angeles police said. “Essentially, we had an argument over loud noises,” said Detective Ken Wiseman.

According to police, Hermogenes Rodriguez, 34, became upset at neighbors who were making noise on the street, got into an argument, pulled a gun and shot one man. The victim, whose name was not immediately released, died about an hour later at UCLA Medical Center. Rodriguez was booked on suspicion of murder.

Man Found Dead

In Tarzana, homicide detectives suspect foul play in the death of a 74-year-old man, who was found Friday evening in his home in the 18000 block of Collins Street. The man’s name was not released until relatives could be notified.

In Paramount, two alleged gang members in a Toyota pickup truck fired 15 shots from a 9-mm handgun at two sheriff’s deputies who tried to stop them for running a red light, officials said. The deputies were not injured.

The suspects, Victor Casillas, 19, and a 17-year-old juvenile were booked on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer and held without bail.

Deputy David Philippon of the Temple City sheriff’s station was another law enforcement target in an incident that began when he tried to talk to the drivers of two cars that had been speeding in South El Monte early Saturday.

Philippon had to dive out of the way as the 17-year-old driver of one of the cars tried to run him down in a gas station, according to a sheriff’s spokesman. The deputy fired three shots, all of which hit the car but missed the driver and his passenger, Paul Vasquez, 20, of El Monte.

Vasquez was arrested for grand theft auto and is being held on $1,500 bail, and the juvenile was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and grand theft.