2 Men Shot to Death by Rival Gang Members

Two men in a car idling at a stoplight were shot to death Sunday night by a gunman in another vehicle in what police are calling a gang-related territorial attack.

Jose Eduardo Baraona, 20, of North Hollywood, and Richard Alexander Castro, 19, of Sun Valley, were killed and another man was slightly injured in the 11 p.m. shooting at the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and San Fernando Mission Road, a popular cruising spot for local gang members, according to Los Angeles police.

The injured man, whom police declined to identify, was treated and released from Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. Two other men in the car were not hurt.

Det. Frank Bishop, a homicide investigator with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division said the victims were gang members from North Hollywood and first encountered their attackers at a gas station at the corner of Sepulveda and Rinaldi Street.

“The suspects asked [the victims] where they were from,” said Bishop. “They told them. One would not think that would be the smart thing to do. The suspects marked them . . . because they were gang members in their area and knew they didn’t belong.”

However, a passenger in Baraona and Castro’s car lived in the neighborhood, which might have been the reason they were in the area, Bishop said.

After the exchange at the gas station, Baraona and Castro left, but were followed by the local gang members who were in an older model, light-colored Buick Regal.

At a stoplight, the Regal pulled alongside and a gunman opened fire, Bishop said. The assailants’ car sped off before the victims could get a good look at them or take down the license plate, Bishop said.

Detectives have asked anyone with information about the slayings to call the Foothill Division at (818) 834-3115.