Foothill Detectives Investigate 2 Friday Deaths

Homicide detectives were investigating two deaths Friday in the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division, including the death of a patient at a Pacoima residential facility for mentally disabled adults.

Paramedics responding to a 12:21 p.m. call at Hillview Mental Health Center in Pacoima found a man who was “pulse-less and non-breathing” in one of the apartments, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The victim appeared to be in his mid-40s, said LAPD Lt. Rick Papke, who characterized the death as “suspicious . . . based on the condition of the body,” but declined to elaborate.

Several hours later, investigators were called to the scene of an unrelated shooting at a Motel 6 on Encinitas Avenue in Sylmar. One victim was taken to Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar, where he died, said Sgt. Terry McBride.

Details were unclear, but police said more than one person was shot.

“It appears to be gang-related,” said Det. Frank Bishop.

Two years ago, the motel was the scene of a bizarre suicide when a homeless woman from Oxnard shot herself as police closed in. She had earlier confessed on a radio talk show to shooting at two people.

Another man was shot to death last year at a motel a block away, the victim of a gang-related attack.

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Lt. Dan Aikin of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office declined to release the names of either the Pacoima patient or the Sylmar shooting victim, saying relatives had not yet been notified.