LOS ANGELES, CA — Three people have been arrested in connection with a mass shooting in the Beverly Crest area and a shooting in North Hollywood that left a trail of bodies, Los Angeles police announced Friday. Authorities did not announce a motive, but detectives said the case appears to be related to Chicago gang violence.
The winter shootings in one of LA’s priciest and low-crime neighborhoods unsettled the community. They occurred within days of several mass shootings in California, and as the months wore on pressure mounted to crack the case.
According to Los Angeles Police Department detectives, three reputed gang members from Chicago were arrested in connection with “ambush style” shooting on Jan. 28 in the Beverly Crest area that left three women dead outside a short-term rental. Authorities don’t believe any of the slain women were the intended targets in the mass shooting, but detectives did not reveal a motive for the shootings Friday.
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One of the suspects is believed to be involved with another fatal shooting in December in North Hollywood, according to police. Several of the victims also hailed from the Chicago area.
Daries Stanford, 28, Dontae Williams, 22, and DeJean Thompkins, 28, were all arrested in the past few weeks, police said. Thompkins and Williams are both in custody in Chicago, while Stanford is in custody in New York. All are awaiting extradition.
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A representative from the District Attorney’s Office said the three suspects have all been charged with multiple counts of murder. In a rare move under District Attorney George Gascón, the office has also filed special circumstance allegations in the case.
According to the D.A.’s Office, Stanford and Williams were both charged with three counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and six counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Thompkins was charged with four counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and six counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
Police said Thompkins is connected to the December killing in North Hollywood, but it’s unclear if the other two had any involvement in that slaying.
Police would not discuss a motive for the slayings, but noted the victim in the North Hollywood killing, Julian Bynum, was also from Chicago. LAPD Capt. Jonathan Tippet said the three women killed in the Beverly Crest area were not believed to have been the intended targets of the gunmen, but Bynum was specifically targeted.
Bynum died from multiple bullet wounds on the sidewalk in the 6800 block of Simpson Avenue shortly before midnight on Dec. 16.
Iyana Hutton, 33, of Chicago; Nenah Davis, 29, of Boilingbrook, Illinois; and Destiny Sims, 26, of Buckeye, Arizona, were fatally shot in a parked car in the 2700 block of North Ellison Drive in the early morning hours of Jan. 28, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The shooting was reported at about 2:30 a.m. in the 2700 block of North Ellison Drive where a gathering was taking place at a short-term rental, according to the LAPD.
Seven people were shot including the three women who died inside of a parked car outside the home.
Authorities said at least 30 shots were fired, and witnesses told investigators that several cars were seen driving away from the area after the gunfire erupted.
Detectives from the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division were assigned to handle the investigation.
“As the homicide investigation continued, detectives compiled and disseminated a Crime Alert with information they received from both witnesses and nearby surveillance video,” an LAPD statement said.
“Detectives discovered that the suspects responsible for the triple homicide were last seen driving a blue 4-door Tesla with damage to the right front fender and no license plates,” the statement said.
Tips from people who saw a vehicle matching that description in the West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills areas led investigators to an apartment building in the 8600 block of Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
On March 29, detectives served a search warrant at the apartment building. Detectives discovered that the apartment was empty, and processed the scene for possible forensic evidence left behind by the suspects.
Anyone with information about the shooting was urged to call the Robbery-Homicide Division at 213-486-6890, 877-LAPD-247, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.
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