ROSEMEAD : Man Slain While Helping Confront Burglary Suspects

An El Monte man was killed Wednesday night and his brother was wounded as they tried to help the owner of a Rosemead tavern confront possible burglars.

David Valenzuela, 37, was pronounced dead at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center shortly after the 11:30 p.m. shooting outside Critters Bar at 9322 E. Valley Blvd. Valenzuela’s brother Clyde, 34, was in fair condition with a bullet wound to the upper body, sheriff’s deputies said.

The incident began when bar owner Herbert Finley, 58, went into the parking lot of his tavern and spotted three men in a blue pickup. Finley apparently thought that one of the men in the truck had been involved in the burglary of his bar about four months earlier, sheriff’s spokeswoman Benita Hinojos said.

Finley went back inside to elicit the help of the Valenzuela brothers. As the three men approached the truck, one of the men inside fired a handgun, striking Clyde Valenzuela in the upper body. As the truck pulled out of the parking lot, David Valenzuela ran after it and was gunned down in the street. Finley was not injured.

An empty semiautomatic handgun was found at the scene.