3 Men Are Killed, 2 Others Wounded in a Night of Violence

Three men died and two others were wounded during an hourlong spate of gunfire that spanned Los Angeles from the central city to the San Fernando Valley, police said Friday.

About four hours later, in an unrelated incident, police in North Hollywood shot and wounded a possible suspect in the slaying of a 68-year-old woman in Pomona.

The violence began about 9:15 p.m. Thursday when a 25-year-old man was found sprawled on a sidewalk in the 500 block of South Rampart Boulevard. The victim, whose name was not released, had been shot once in the torso. He died later at County-USC Medical Center.

Investigators said two suspects believed to be gang members were seen fleeing the scene in a silver-colored vehicle.

About 10 minutes after the Rampart attack, Gerardo Jacobo, 27, was standing on a sidewalk in the 7900 block of Brimfield Avenue in Panorama City when a man walked up and shot him in the leg with a handgun, detectives said.

The gunman fled in a car, witnesses said. LAPD Det. Joseph Aparicio said the shooting was believed to be gang-related.

Jacobo was treated at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center.

Half an hour after that attack, a panhandler was shot to death when he interrupted an argument between a man and his girlfriend, according to police.

Newton Division Sgt. Ted Spicer said the panhandler approached the couple as they were arguing in a truck parked at 54th Street and Holmes Avenue. Spicer said the man in the truck became angry, got out and shot the man once in the head, killing him. The gunman ran away, but his girlfriend stayed in the truck, cooperating with police when they arrived, Spicer said. The identities of the victim, the gunman and the woman were not released.

About the same time, a man in his 20s was shot in the back as he walked out of a liquor store at Glenoaks Boulevard and Polk Street in Sylmar. Detectives said three unidentified people, believed to be gang members, fled in a small gray vehicle. The man was later reported in serious but stable condition, police said.

About 15 minutes later, an unidentified man about 45 years old was shot to death as he sat in a car parked in the 1400 block of East 96th Street, police said.

Southeast Division Sgt. Maurice Landrum said the victim, who was armed with a handgun that was broken, died during a dispute with three other men, who fled to a nearby house. Twelve people in the house were taken in for questioning. Several were booked on unrelated charges, but none were booked in connection with the slaying.

Less than an hour later, about 11 p.m., officers in North Hollywood saw the car of a murder victim, 68-year-old Lois Schoenhoff of Pomona, parked in the 4000 block of Vineland Avenue.

They alerted Pomona police, and a stakeout ensued. LAPD Lt. Horace Frank said that about 2:30 a.m. Friday, officers from both departments approached the car and found Andrew David Partlow, 38, wanted in connection with Schoenhoff’s killing, inside.

Frank said that when the officers ordered him out, Partlow started the car and backed it toward the officers “in an erratic and threatening manner.”

LAPD Officers John Smith and Nadine Hernandez opened fire, and one of the bullets struck Partlow in the forearm, Frank said.

Partlow drove off with police in pursuit, Frank said. A few blocks away, at Vineland Avenue and Lankershim Boulevard, Partlow pulled over and was arrested.

Frank said police have not yet established whether Partlow, a parolee who is being held at County-USC jail ward without bail, was armed during the confrontation.

Pomona police have named Partlow as a possible suspect in the Oct. 29 beating death of Schoenhoff. Partlow had been living in Schoenhoff’s mobile home, investigators said.

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Times correspondent Richard Fausset contributed to this story.