Argument Turns Deadly for Man Parked Outside Convenience Store

A man was shot to death while parked outside a 7-Eleven in Sylmar on Wednesday morning after an argument with his killer, Los Angeles police said.

Manuel Dealba, 48, and his female companion, in her 40s, had gone into the store in the 14100 block of Foothill Boulevard about 5:50 a.m., made some purchases and walked back to their pickup truck, Lt. Anthony Alba said.

“As they were seated inside, a lone male Hispanic walked up to the driver’s side,” Alba said. An argument broke out and the other man drew a pistol and fired several times into Dealba’s head and chest at point-blank range, fatally wounding him.

The woman sitting beside the victim was not injured, Alba said.

The gunman ran behind the store, got into a stolen white Chevy Camaro and entered the eastbound lanes of the Foothill Freeway on the Polk Street onramp, Alba said. The gunman soon abandoned the car on the freeway and ran into the surrounding neighborhood.

After a search of the area, police took one man to the Foothill police station for questioning, but he was released and is not a suspect, authorities said. Alba said detectives also interviewed the victim’s female companion.

Paramedics rushed Dealba to a local hospital where he was placed on life support. He was pronounced dead several hours later.

Still in question is the motive for the shooting, which police said could range from a botched carjacking to a robbery attempt.