Three Murders in Two Days for Rampart Division

The infamous Rampart Division which patrols neighborhoods including Echo Park, Korea Town, HiFi and MacArtur Park, started the new year off with a few deaths.

On New Year's Eve, 21-year-old Sergio Chamale-Mendez was shot in his car in what is believed to be a gang related shooting. He was found by officers responding to a call at Occidental and 3rd Street around 10 p.m. Chamale-Mendez was apparently stopped at the intersection when the suspect's vehicle pulled up aside and fired several times. Three others in the car were not hurt.

Approxmiately 12 hours later the next morning, units responded to a call on the 1200 block of West 8th Street. Upon arrival, they found Julio Ruiz red handed, apparently washing blood from his hands with a garden hose on the side of the residence. He was taken into custody without incident, the LAPD said. When officers entered the home, they found two elderly male roommates, who later died of their injuries, with stab wounds.

Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr