Police Probing Fatal Shooting by Officer

Authorities on Thursday were investigating whether a Glendale police officer followed proper procedures when he fired several shots, killing a robbery suspect Tuesday in Boyle Heights.

Edgar Fregoso, 22, died at a nearby hospital. He was among at least three suspects in a robbery last week in which a 26-year-old woman was shot four times and nearly $3,000 was stolen from her purse outside a Glendale supermarket, Glendale Police Sgt. Rick Young said Thursday.

Police were following a lead on Fregoso’s whereabouts when Fregoso saw the officers in a Boyle Heights alley, Young said. Fregoso, who was in a Ford Bronco with a woman, drove the vehicle directly at Homicide Investigator Ben Mihm, who shot him in an attempt to stop the vehicle, Young said.

The woman in the car, 29-year-old Cynthia Contreres, was also a suspect in the robbery. She suffered shoulder injuries and was being held in the County Jail’s medical ward on charges of attempted murder, robbery and conspiracy, officials said.

A third suspect, 21-year-old Aran Renteria of Los Angeles, was arrested in Temple City on Tuesday. Investigators filed charges of attempted murder and robbery against him Thursday.

Glendale police said there might be a fourth suspect. The Los Angeles Police Department has begun a parallel investigation into Tuesday’s shooting because it took place in Los Angeles, said LAPD Officer Guillermo Campos.