2 are charged with fatally beating a man outside a Hollywood nightclub
Prosecutors Tuesday charged two men with fatally beating a 29-year-old man outside a Hollywood nightclub last weekend.
Police said the victim, Devion Jelkes, was attacked when he tried to help his sister, who was allegedly punched in the face by one of the suspected killers.
Dietrich Canterberry and Cordell Shields, both 34, each face one count of murder in connection with the Sunday morning slaying of Jelkes near Hollywood and Cahuenga boulevards, according to Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Police responded about 2:30 a.m. to the intersection, located in the heart of Hollywood’s nightlife district, Los Angeles Police Officer Aareon Jefferson said.
At the time, nightclubs were closing for the evening, and witnesses told police that two women got into a dispute as a crowd milled about on the sidewalk.
Prosecutors allege that during the dispute, Shields punched Jelkes’ sister, Laporscha Marks, in the face as she tried to get into a car.
As Jelkes ran toward his sister, the two men kicked and punched him, prosecutors said.
Paramedics rushed Jelkes to a hospital with blunt-force trauma. He was later pronounced dead.
After the slaying, the two men fled. Police say Canterberry hopped onto a party bus, but officers later caught up with the bus, pulled it over and arrested him.
Shields, who also faces one count of assault for allegedly assaulting Marks, was arrested Monday morning by LAPD officers. He remains in jail with bail set at $2.026 million, according to jail records.
Canterberry, a resident of Anaheim, was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
Both men are scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 16. No attorney for either man could be reached for comment.
Deaths at or near Hollywood nightclubs are rare, although in August 2015 a 20-year-old DJ died during a brawl at Cashmere on Hollywood Boulevard.
It was a year ago that L.A. City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell warned that the city would be more aggressive in going after club operators who violate their conditional-use permits.
Twitter: @MattHjourno.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
