Botched Drug Deal Sparked San Pedro Killings, Police Say

Los Angeles police homicide detectives are piecing together clues found at the scene of a bloody shootout Wednesday in San Pedro in which three men were killed and another wounded.

Police said the triple murder was triggered by a drug deal that went awry and ended with four men exchanging gunfire in and around a small home at 10:45 a.m. Investigators said more than 15 shots were fired in the gun battle, with neighbors reporting bullets flying overhead.

“It was quite a bloody scene,” said Sgt. Larry Kallestad, of the Police Department’s homicide division. “We’re not at a point yet where we can say whose gun killed who, but we’re beginning to understand what happened there.”

Killed in the shootout was Jose Ortega, 47, who lived in the house on the 500 block of Santa Cruz Street; David Delgado, 31, of Compton, and a third man, who has not yet been identified.

Ortega’s brother, Jesus Castillo, of Fontana, was wounded in the attack and was being held in the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center. Castillo was arrested on suspicion of murder, police said.

Investigators discovered a kilo of cocaine and several pounds of marijuana at the scene. After obtaining a search warrant, narcotics officers searched Castillo’s home early Thursday and seized 10 more kilos of cocaine and evidence that “about 40 kilos had been moved,” Kallestad said. Police arrested Sergio Sandoval, 21, at the scene and charged him with felony possession of narcotics for sale.

According to detectives, Ortega and Castillo were inside the house when three men in a bronze Oldsmobile pulled up. Two of the men went inside, apparently to purchase drugs. Following an argument, police said Castillo pulled out a pistol and began firing, and the others also brandished weapons and exchanged fire. The driver of the Oldsmobile fled, and police are still searching for him.

Following the gun battle, police found eight weapons at the scene, and the drugs. Castillo, who police said jumped out of a window to avoid being shot, apparently called 911 and alerted officers.

When police arrived, they found the unidentified man, dead from a head wound, in the yard and Castillo suffering from a gunshot wound in the hip. Delgado and Ortega, who were shot several times, were taken to San Pedro Peninsula Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

“It took us almost 12 hours to (comb through) the scene,” Kallestad said. “Some of the gunfire went through the walls in the house. We won’t know for a while whose gun killed who.”

The latest killings underscored the escalating violence that has plagued the Harbor area recently. Two weeks ago, eight people were injured in drive-by shootings at two locations within minutes of each other. Police said the number of homicides in the area jumped by seven last year, to 21.