Crime & Safety

Two Arrests Made in Echo Park Stairway Shooting

Police apprehended a 19-year-old and a 14-year-old on Friday evening. Both are believed to have gang affiliations, though that may not have been the motive for the killing.

According to an email from Lt. Wesley Buhrmeister, both suspects were arrested Friday evening .

They were booked for murder with a firearm in connection with the shooting death of Jose Antonio Chavez, 35.

Chavez was found shot to death Wednesday

Find out what's happening in Echo Park-Silver Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Detectives had been investigating the shooting since Wednesday and passed info along to uniformed officers, who arrested Armando Rosales, 19, after a traffic stop.

According to Buhrmeister,  a 14-year-old turned himself in about an hour later at the Rampart Station.

Find out what's happening in Echo Park-Silver Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The two arrested have gang affiliations, but, according to Buhrmeister:

Information tends to indicate the shooting arose from a personal dispute, [and is] not related to gang activity. The victim and suspects were previously acquainted, and this was not a random act.

Rampart detective Chris Linscomb told Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch that any arrests would likely depend on help from the community.

Meantime, the $25,000 has done little to help investigators.

According to Northeast detective Adam Altamirgno, the division has received only one call about the reward--and that was simply to confirm the phone number listed to call was correct.

And, yes, it is 323-344-5751.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Echo Park-Silver Lake