Officers Arrest Man in Slaying of 18-Year-Old

Police say a North Hollywood man who was arrested early Thursday shot and killed another man in a dispute over a woman.

At 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, a man in a white Ford Thunderbird parked in front of an apartment building in the 7200 block of Case Avenue and called for Raul Muneton, 18, witnesses told police. Muneton came out and, after a brief argument, the occupant of the car shot him in the stomach and drove away, police said.

Muneton was taken to Pacifica Hospital of the Valley, where he underwent surgery but died at 1 a.m. Los Angeles police detectives identified Muneton’s ex-girlfriend and found her on Klump Avenue in North Hollywood, where she lived with her new boyfriend and his mother.

“The Thunderbird was in front of the house,” said Mike Coffey, head of the homicide unit at the LAPD’s North Hollywood Station.

At about 4 a.m. Thursday, officers entered the house and arrested Jesus Castaneda, 18, on suspicion of murder. Castaneda, a suspected gang member, was being held at the Van Nuys Jail without bail.

Muneton was not affiliated with a gang nor was the slaying gang-related, Coffey said. The motive appeared to be jealousy, Coffey said, although police have not determined the details of the men’s disagreement.

Coffey said Muneton and his ex-girlfriend had parted ways more than a year ago. She was not implicated in Wednesday’s events.

In addition to a likely murder charge, Castaneda is also accused of receiving stolen property.

“The Thunderbird was stolen from a gentleman while he was using the public library at North Hollywood Park back on Sept. 28,” Coffey said.