Suspect Is Jailed in Shooting That Left 2 Dead, 1 Hurt

Two people died and a third was wounded in a shooting inside a Harbor Gateway house just after 2 a.m. Wednesday.

Sonja Chandirimani, 29, was found dead next to her injured husband, and the couple’s friend, Duane Baily, 33, was found dead in the next room after Los Angeles police responded to a call of gunshots at a house in the 800 block of West 156th Street. All three victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds and were shot in bed as if ambushed while sleeping, police said.

Chandirimani’s husband, 29, whose name was not released, was taken to a local hospital for surgery and was listed in guarded condition, police said.

A few hours later, officers found Chandirimani’s car, a Nissan Maxima, in Compton. Shortly after, they arrested a suspect, Mila Johnson, 29, at a gas station near Alondra Boulevard and Central Avenue in Compton. No weapon was found.

Johnson had been a guest in the house, Det. Sal LaBarbera said. Police are still trying to determine a motive.

There was no sign of forced entry to the one-story house, and no evidence of robbery, Det. Roger Allen said.

Neither Baily, who rented the house, nor the couple, who were staying with him, had any known criminal or gang associations that would have caused them to be targeted, said LaBarbera, and no witness reported hearing any argument.