Sun Valley Man Charged in Slaying
A Sun Valley man was charged Friday with murder and armed robbery in the death of a 23-year-old man who police suspect was killed during a hotel room drug theft. Another suspect in the killing is being sought.
Joray Garza Cubillos, 39, was charged in the Thursday morning shooting death of Wilfredo Escalante, 23, whose body was found about 1 a.m. in a room at the Sun Valley Budget Inn at 8365 Lehigh Ave., Los Angeles Police Detective Al Ferrand said. The hotel is in a neighborhood frequented by drug users and dealers, he said.
The victim, a Sun Valley resident, was found with one gunshot wound in the upper torso, Ferrand said. “The preliminary investigation indicates that it was a drug rip-off,” Ferrand said.
Police arrested Cubillos about 10:30 a.m. after officers saw a car linked to the slaying parked in the 8700 block of Norris Avenue near Tuxford Street, Ferrand said. Cubillos was arrested after a brief stakeout.
He was being held Friday in the Central Jail in Los Angeles.
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