Deliveryman Wounded in Carjacking Try

A Los Angeles Times deliveryman was shot and wounded in an apparent carjacking attempt during his rounds early Friday.

Daniel Castillo Veronica, 29, of Pacoima, had barely begun his paper route when he was accosted by four men at the corner of Laurel Canyon and Roscoe boulevards at 4:30 a.m., said police and Veronica’s co-workers.

“Somebody asked him if he had a match,” said Baby Mendoza, the wife of Veronica’s supervisor. Veronica told them he did not have a match, she said.

The men then told Veronica to surrender his pickup truck, and when he refused they beat him with a bottle, according to Los Angeles Police Det. Mike Coffey.

“The victim tried to flee,” Coffey said. “He heard several shots but did not know he had been hit.”

A single bullet entered his right arm and settled in his chest, Coffey said. Veronica jumped into his truck and drove a short distance until he found a security guard.

The guard called paramedics, who took Veronica to Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley. Hospital officials said Veronica’s condition was listed as serious after surgery Friday morning.

Veronica has delivered newspapers for The Times for about six years, Mendoza said.