Bratton Asks for Public’s Help in Killings

Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton appealed for the public’s help Thursday as detectives remained stymied in the search for suspects in the execution-style slayings of three people last week.

Detectives have found witnesses to the crime, which occurred in late afternoon on a busy side street in South Los Angeles, but they still have few clues to help track down the two gunmen and the driver of the getaway car, Bratton said.

“There has been very little forthcoming,” the chief said, calling the lack of information “very unusual for a crime of this high profile.”

The June 30 killings of David Marcial, 10; his uncle, Larry Marcial, 22; and a neighborhood friend, Luis Cervantes, 17, elicited outrage in the area for their brazenness and brutality. David’s brother, Sergio Marcial Jr., 12, was wounded.

Two gunmen got out of a large, dark-colored sedan, walked up to the four on a sidewalk and shot them point-blank, firing 38 rounds from assault-style weapons.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa labeled the crime “obscene.”

City and county officials have offered a $105,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of the suspects.

Bratton acknowledged that detectives were at a loss for a motive in the killings. None of the victims had ties to gangs or crime, nor did their families.

Homicide detectives are continuing to review tapes from surveillance cameras mounted along Central Avenue to get an image of the suspects’ car.

Police also plan to canvass the area around the 1100 block of East 49th Street today about the same time the shooting occurred, on the chance that someone will recall something.

The funerals for the Marcials and Cervantes are scheduled for next week.

“The best detectives in the world can only work with information they have,” Bratton said in urging people to come forward. “We have very limited information.”