Teen Who Surrendered Was Sought in Felony

A 14-year-old boy who surrendered to Los Angeles police Monday afternoon, four days after the fatal shooting of his best friend in an apartment here, is a suspected gang member who was the subject of an outstanding felony warrant, detectives said.

The teen, whose name was withheld because of his age, gave police a lengthy interview before he was booked on suspicion of murder and placed in Sylmar Juvenile Hall without bail.

LAPD Det. Jim Rahm declined to discuss what the youth said and refused to reveal other information about the weapon used except that it was a handgun. Rahm said a felony warrant had been issued last year for the youth, but would not give specifics.

The arrested teenager was staying in Van Nuys with Gloria Vasquez, who had befriended the boy and taken him into her Valerio Street apartment three weeks earlier. On Thursday, police were called by neighbors to the apartment, where they found the body of Denrel Martell Hudggins, 15, the suspect’s childhood friend, lying on the living room floor with a gunshot wound in the head.

Vasquez’s daughter, Tshima Steward, said the teens had been playing video games earlier in the day.

Rahm said the suspect turned himself over to authorities at Los Angeles International Airport after consulting clergy, friends and family members.

“To the mother’s credit, she told us if he showed up she’d bring him in,” Rahm said. “She was with him when he surrendered himself.”

In the days following the shooting the boy had been hiding out with friends in the San Fernando Valley and Inglewood, Rahm said. Authorities were preparing an arrest warrant when the boy turned up.