Murder Suspect Shot and Killed in Confrontation With Police

Los Angeles police shot and fatally wounded a murder suspect they had been seeking for the past month after he allegedly rammed an officer’s car and displayed a handgun, authorities said Tuesday.

Anthony Lloyd Crumpton, 21, was shot at about 2:15 p.m. Monday in the 300 block of West 64th Street after officers in civilian clothes blocked his car from leaving the street with their own vehicles, said Police Lt. William D. Hall, head of the LAPD’s officer-involved shooting team.

Detectives Frank Barkowski, 37, and Officer Ramon Navarro, 38, went to 64th Street near Broadway at about noon Monday after police were told that Crumpton might be in the neighborhood, Hall said.

After seeing Crumpton’s parked car, the officers kept it under surveillance and called for assistance from other plainclothes detectives, Hall said.

Crumpton came out of a house shortly after 2 p.m., entered his car and attempted to drive west on 64th, when Detective Stanley Chavez, 47, blocked his path with a police car, Hall said. Crumpton then began backing his car east, but Navarro had stopped his police car behind him, the lieutenant said.

Crumpton “intentionally rammed” Navarro’s car before driving forward a short distance and stopping in the middle of the street, Hall said.

Several detectives on foot immediately surrounded the car, Hall said.

Barkowski “observed Crumpton with a handgun inside the vehicle” and alerted the other officers, the lieutenant said.

“When Crumpton continued to display the handgun and look around at the officers, Detective Barkowski, fearing Crumpton would shoot one of the officers or himself, fired two rounds from his 9-millimeter pistol,” Hall said.

At the same time, detectives Dale Hines, 47, and Ruben Holguin, 32, fired eight shots each from their 9-millimeter pistols, Hall said.

Officers approached the car, arrested Crumpton and recovered a 9-millimeter pistol “from his grasp,” Hall said.

Crumpton was taken to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center where he died from a bullet wound to the head.

Investigators said Crumpton was suspected in a series of narcotics-related killings dating back to 1987. Crumpton was also identified as a suspect in an attempted murder in April, officers said.

A warrant was issued for his arrest last month, and officers had unsuccessfully sought him until Monday, Hall said.