11 Killed in Violence Over the Weekend

There were 11 homicides in Los Angeles over the Fourth of July weekend, including three slayings in which the victims were over 50 and one in which the victim was a 16-year-old boy.

The long weekend was not a record-breaker, however, and the 256 homicides that have been committed citywide so far this year still represent about a 24% decrease from the number at this time last year.

But the violence from Friday through Monday morning was enough to raise concerns among Los Angeles Police Department officials, who have been hoping that a pattern of lower homicide numbers so far this year would hold through the summer.

The tally was especially discouraging, said LAPD spokeswoman Mary Grady, since police officials had made an unusual public appeal last week for a nonviolent weekend.

They did so in anticipation of possible trouble because of a combination factors -- hot, sunny days, the Fourth of July falling on a Friday, and the long holiday weekend that followed.

Six of the weekend homicides occurred in the three South L.A. police precincts that traditionally lead the rest in violent crime. The others were sprinkled throughout the city. Two occurred in the West San Fernando Valley, a part of the city that usually has fewer homicides.

The average number of homicides each week in L.A. is nine, and they are disproportionately likely to occur during weekends. So while the holiday marked a recent high point for killings, it did not represent a significant shift in overall trends. Last year, there were 13 homicides in the week between June 28 and July 5. This year, there were nine in the week ending Saturday.

“Even though we had significant numbers over the weekend, I’m still encouraged” by longer-term trends, said Deputy Chief Earl Paysinger, head of the LAPD’s South Bureau.

He said the department has launched a variety of efforts in recent months to hold down violent crime, particularly on the south side of the city, where it is most likely to occur.

These include recent sweeps by the LAPD and federal agents that have resulted in multiple arrests throughout South Los Angeles, and new efforts to solve old violent crime cases that have languished because of a lack of resources.

The first of the weekend’s homicides occurred about 10 a.m. Friday, when Akkeli Holley, 29, who uses a wheelchair, was struck by several bullets while sitting in his car in the 1500 block of East 114th Street in the southeast area of Los Angeles.

Also Friday, 19-year-old Joe Lima was shot in the upper torso in an alley south of Roscoe Boulevard and east of Zelzah Avenue in Northridge about 3:30 p.m. His friends drove him to a hospital, where he died.

Shortly after noon Saturday, a man was found dead in a room at the Cecil Hotel in the 600 block of South Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, a possible victim of strangulation. Police did not identify him.

Also Saturday, DeShon Jerome Moore, 24, was killed by gunfire about 4 p.m. in the 1300 block of West 59th Place in South-Central Los Angeles.

About the same time, officers responded to a call in the 1700 block of North Avenue 58 in the Highland Park area from a person who reported finding both grandparents dead.

Police found James Eversfield, 57, and his wife, Marilyn Eversfield, 53, in their home, both victims of gunshot wounds to the head. The crime may be a murder-suicide, police said.

Sometime after 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Virginia Alvarez, 38, a resident of Pico Rivera and an employee of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, was killed in the 6100 block of York Boulevard, also in the Highland Park area.

Police said she was getting out of a car with a companion when two gang members approached and shot her in the head.

On Sunday, a 72-year-old woman was found beaten to death about 9 a.m. in the 4200 block of South Cloverdale Avenue in Southwest Los Angeles, and a baseball bat was found nearby. Her name was not released.

Also on Sunday, Jeffrey Collin Nicholson, 38, was shot about 1:15 p.m. in front of a barber shop in the 2000 block of West Manchester Avenue in South-Central Los Angeles.

Then, about 6:40 p.m. Sunday, Christopher Jacobs, 16, was shot near the intersection of 48th Street and Harvard Boulevard in Southwest Los Angeles.

And about 10 p.m. Sunday, Edourd Caprice Peters, 20, was shot in front of a building in the 2500 block of Southwest Drive in Southwest Los Angeles.

On Monday just after midnight, an elderly man sitting in a car was shot in the 16000 block of San Fernando Mission Boulevard in the Mission Hills area and was taken to a hospital, where he died.

Police said they are not sure if he was shot a short distance away and drove himself home, or if he was shot in his driveway. His name was not released.