4 Men Shot to Death at Compton Car Shop

Four men were shot to death at a Compton hydraulics shop in what could have been a drug-related killing rampage, Compton police said Saturday.

The attack occurred about 6:45 p.m. Friday at Prototype Hydraulics in the 1100 block of East Rosecrans Avenue. Lt. Danny Sneed said two men entered the shop and began talking with owner Jorge Barahona, 29, of Inglewood and another employee.

An argument broke out, and the gunmen shot Barahona and his worker, then another employee and a fourth, still unidentified man, before running from the shop, Sneed said. Two victims died at the scene, and the other two died later Friday at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.

Sneed said “a quantity of drugs and cash was found at the location” and that the slayings were apparently narcotics-related. Investigators had no other details.

Barahona and the employees--Jose Lopez, 24, of Compton and Fernando Embarcadero, 32, of Torrance--were members of the Majestics, a Huntington Park-based car club, whose members gathered in a chilly drizzle Saturday morning at the modest shop and lighted votive candles.

They described Barahona and his workers as good family men who stayed out of trouble.

Neighbors said Barahona often worked while his wife and 3-year-old daughter watched. He usually closed by sundown but was staying open late Friday because of a surge of post-holiday business, they said.