LOS ANGELES - Officials have publicly identified the man killed in a likely gang shooting near Azusa.

Azusa resident Oscar Carmona, 22, was identified by Lt. Larry Dietz of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

San Dimas deputies were initially called to an injured victim in the 18000 block of Newburgh Street June 1 around 11:15 p.m. Carmona, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, died at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
 
There is no suspect description and the murder weapon is outstanding.

Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - The lone remaining suspect accused of beating a young man with a rock and broke glass pipe is still in hiding, authorities said Monday.
 
Matthew Luzon Martin-Capiendo, 21, is being sought by Sheriff’s Homicide detectives in connection with the killing of 20-year-old Julian Hamori-Andrade, whose body was found dumped 30 feet over the side of Highway 39 Wednesday, May 30.
 
Martin-Capiendo goes by several aliases including Matthew Martin, Matt Martin and Matt Luzon.
 
Martin-Capiendo is Filipino, stands 5 feet 6 inches tall, is 220 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes. He may have recently shaves his hair, Homicide Detectives said.
 
Hercules Balaskas, an 18-year-old man from Glendora,  Jacob Hunter Elmendorf, a 19-year-old man from La Verne, Francisco Amigon, a 19-year-old man from La Verne and Martin- Capiendo were charged May 31 with three counts of first degree murder with special circumstances, first-degree residential robbery and kidnapping, according to Sarah Ardalani of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The suspects also face three special circumstances of lying in wait and murder during the kidnapping and robbery Hamori-Andrade, whose body was found dumped 30 feet over the side of Highway 39 Wednesday, May 30.

Prosecutors accuse Balaskas of beating Hamori-Andrade with the metal chair. Martin-Capiendo further beat the victim once he was taken to the mountainside, Ardalani said.
 
The brutal killing began May 29 when deputies responding to a home in the 6100 block of Goodway Drive in the unincorporated area near Azusa for a disturbance call discovered a large blood trail leading from the unoccupied home to the street, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
 
A motive for the killing is unknown.

Balaskas, Amigon and Elmendorf are expected to face arraignment June 6 in Pomona Superior Court.

If convicted as charged, all four suspects face the death penalty or life in state prison without parole.

The decision to seek the death penalty will be made at a later court appearance.
 
Anyone who has seen or knowns Martin-Capiendo’s whereabouts is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - Sheriff’s Homicide investigators have identified all suspects and have named the victim in the suspicious circumstances surrounding a dead body found in the Azusa Canyons.
 
The man found dead after being thrown 30 feet over Highway 39 is 20-year-old Glendora resident Julian Hamori-Andrade. He is not a resident of the home where large blood stains were discovered in the 6100 block of Goodway Drive May 28.
 
Arrested were:
- Hercules Balaskas, an 18-year-old white man from Glendora

- Jacob Hunter Elmendorf, a 19-year-old white man from La Verne

- Francisco Amigon, a 19-year-old Hispanic man from La Verne
 
Still outstanding is 21-year-old Matthew Capiendo Luzon, a 21-year-old resident of unincorporated Azusa. A warrant for his arrest is being sought.
 
A motive for the killing is still unknown.

Balaskas, Elmendorf and Amigon were booked into San Dimas Sheriff Station on suspicion of murder. Charges with the District Attorney’s Office are pending, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
 
Deputies laid out a gory scene in which Hamori-Andrade was brutally beaten.
 
“The victim, along with suspects Balaskas, Elmendorf, and Amigon were at the home of suspect Matthew Luzon on Goodway Drive, when the victim was brutally beaten before being dragged to a pick-up truck belonging to one of the suspects,” Homicide detectives said. “The unconscious victim was lifted into the bed of the truck and driven to Azusa Canyon. He was then brutally beaten again before being thrown over the side of a roadside drop off.”
 
Hamori-Andrade was possibly still alive when he was beaten again and dumped over the side of the road where he eventually died.
 
Homicide detectives commend witnesses for coming forward and identifying the truck used in the murder, having seen it parked outside the Goodway Drive home on the night of the incident. 
 
Witness accounts led deputies to the location where Hamori-Andrade was found, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau said.

Written by AARON CASTREJON | CityWatch Editor

LOS ANGELES - Three men in their early 20s have been arrested in connection with the death of a man who went missing from a home and whose body was found dumped in the Azusa Canyons.

The three suspects, who have yet to be identified, are described as acquaintances of the man. His body was found dumped after a tip led San Dimas Sheriff’s deputies to near mile marker 20 on San Gabriel Canyon Road where the body was found amongst thick brush, according to deputy Trina Schrader of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’ Information Bureau.

One suspect remains outstanding. Because of this, no suspect names are being released and neither is the motive, Schrader said.

Deputies discovered the body at 5:55 p.m. Wednesday, 30 feet over the side. Deputies searched for two hours after being tipped off about a possible body before making the discovery, Schrader said.

The man, who will not be publicly named until next of kin are notified, appears to have suffered blunt force trauma.

The man was assaulted at a home in the 6100 block of Goodway Drive in Citrus, an unincorporated community near Azusa May 28. He was driven to the Azusa Canyons where his body was dumped.

It is unclear where the man was killed, Schrader said.

Anyone with information on the killing, or outstanding suspect is urged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Information can be provided anonymously by Calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).