Trial Ordered in Bombing That Killed Mother, Baby
An alleged gang member was ordered to stand trial Monday on charges that he killed a mother and her baby in a gang-related bomb attack.
After a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles Municipal Court, Robert Vanke, 19, is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court on Feb. 10 on murder and arson charges.
The charges stem from an April 30 firebombing attack that killed Dolores Young, 38, and her 11-month-old daughter, Jaleesa Cray. A Molotov cocktail was thrown into Young’s apartment in the Puebla del Rio housing project that night, allegedly in retaliation for a shooting several hours earlier in which a man was killed.
Young was a relative of the slain man, police said. Twelve people were in the apartment when the bomb was thrown. In addition to the two killed, two others were badly burned.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
