A 20-year-old man suspected in three shootings that killed three people and injured five others in the South Bay last fall was arrested this week, authorities said on Thursday, Jan. 25.
Dion Johnson was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday on suspicion of the Sept. 4 killing of a couple in Harbor City and the Sept. 30 shooting death of a 17-year-old boy at a party in San Pedro, said Los Angeles Police Capt. Jamie Bennett.
On Sept. 4, Carlos Loera, 21, and Ashley Guzman, 18, were in the 1000 block of 253rd Street when a gunman walked up to their vehicle and opened fire, police said. Loera was pronounced dead at the scene, and Guzman later died at the hospital.
Their 1-year-old child was also shot but survived his wounds.
The car seat the child was in at the time of the shooting likely saved his life, slowing the bullet’s velocity and “miraculously” preventing the child from greater injury, Bennett said.
Around three weeks later, Joseph Saldana was at a birthday party in the 1200 block of North Park Western Drive when he was shot and killed outside the residence. Three others were also wounded.
“Joseph was an innocent victim that was visiting family,” said Monique Vasquez, Saldana’s aunt. “He was a sweet and loving boy that lit up a room with his beautiful smile.”
He had just graduated from high school and in the process of starting college, Vazquez said.
“He had his entire life in front of him,” she said. “And it was stripped away by a senseless act of violence.”
A third shooting near the intersection of Glinn and Coil avenues in Wilmington on Oct. 2 left a 43-year-old man seriously injured, Bennett said.
A motive for the killings was not released by authorities, though investigators believe the shootings were motivated in part by Johnson’s alleged gang affiliation. They said the victims did not have any relation to Johnson.
“These were innocent people,” Bennett said.
Johnson was previously arrested for robbery in Las Vegas…
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