15-Year-Old Held in Death of His Mother’s Boyfriend

A 15-year-old boy apparently angry over the treatment of his mother by her boyfriend stabbed the man to death with a screwdriver, police said Friday.

The boy--who was not identified because of his age--and a 22-year-old Sylmar man surrendered to San Fernando police after the Thursday night stabbing of Elias Beltran, 29, police said.

Beltran was involved in what police described as a tumultuous relationship with the boy’s mother, Renee Moreno, 39. Beltran was also the father of Moreno’s two daughters, ages 7 and 8.

Moreno had recently asked Beltran to move out of her apartment on Mountain View Street, San Fernando Police Detective Mike Langston said. At about 7 p.m. Thursday, Beltran and Moreno were involved in a “brief altercation” outside the apartment while Moreno’s son watched, Langston said.

Angered at how Beltran was treating his mother, the 15-year-old shoved the older man, Langston said. Beltran walked away, taking his youngest daughter with him, Langston said.

Neighbors said Beltran had frequently quarreled with the 15-year-old.

“They didn’t like each other,” said a 12-year-old boy who lives in the apartment building. “They would always fight.”

At about 8:30 p.m., Beltran returned to the apartment with his daughter. The two sat in Beltran’s pickup truck in the building’s parking lot when the 15-year-old arrived with his friend Jaime Zaragoza, 22, of Sylmar, Langston said.

The two spotted Beltran and challenged him to a fight, Langston said. Beltran accepted, and he and Zaragoza grappled, rolling on the ground as the 15-year-old circled, Langston said. The shouting drew other residents of the apartment complex, including Beltran’s 7-year-old daughter, Langston said.

Then the 15-year-old lunged and stabbed Beltran in the back with a screwdriver as he wrestled with Zaragoza, Langston said. Beltran died at the scene.

The 15-year-old and Zaragoza turned themselves in to police later Thursday, Langston said. It was the first slaying in the city of San Fernando this year.

Beltran “was a really nice guy, because whenever (he and Moreno) would argue, he would leave,” one neighbor, who declined to give her name, said Thursday. “Yesterday, when I saw him, he was with his daughters and he was smiling.”