Police Arrest Transient in Clubbing Death of Man, 34

A transient was arrested on suspicion of clubbing to death another homeless man in a field, authorities said Monday.

Antonio Campos, 36, was arrested in the killing of a 34-year-old man, said Los Angeles Police Det. Mike Coffey.

The victim’s name was not released pending notification of relatives.

Police responded to a report of a beating in a field in the 7500 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Coffey said. The empty lot is between some businesses and an apartment complex.

When patrol officers arrived, they found the dead beating victim. Nearby was a bloody piece of wood believed to have been used by the killer.

Investigators interviewed a crowd that had gathered at the scene. Coffey said the witnesses indicated that the field was used by homeless people for various activities, including drinking, taking drugs and fighting.

One witness pointed to Campos in the crowd as an associate of the dead man and when police approached him they saw blood on his clothes, Coffey said. After being interviewed, Campos was arrested.

Campos and the victim were both transients who had frequented the Laurel Canyon neighborhood for several months, Coffey said.

The victim was born and raised in the state of Zacatecas, Mexico, and used the name of the state as a nickname, authorities said. Campos and “Zacatecas” had, in fact, known each other for at least two years, had numerous confrontations, and the death apparently “was the culmination of all those disputes,” Coffey said.

Campos was held without bail at the Van Nuys Jail.