Wounded Guard Dies; 2 Arrested

A 27-year-old security guard died early Saturday of a gunshot wound, about the same time officers were arresting his two suspected assailants several miles away, police said.

Ismael Zapien of Pacoima was pronounced dead at 3:39 a.m. at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said, after being shot once in the head outside Las Brisas, a North Hills bar at 15321 Parthenia St.

Shortly after Zapien arrived at the hospital, officers searching near the scene came upon a car that had been spotted leaving the bar after the shooting, said Sgt. Jim Myers of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Devonshire Division.

In the car were Victor Robles-Diaz, 31, and Jose De Jesus Aguilar Chacon, 21, both of North Hills, Myers said. Both were arrested and are being held in the Devonshire Jail on suspicion of murder. Bail is set at $1 million each.

There was no indication of what prompted the shooting, Myers said, adding that the investigation was continuing and formal charges would probably be filed by the district attorney’s office early this week.