6 arrested after violent robberies leave 3 dead at scenic Southern California locations
Police think the suspects are part of a gang robbing people at scenic Los Angeles overlooks, say a "strategic decision" was made to arrest the suspects when they did.
The Pasadena Police Department has arrested six men and women suspected of carrying out robberies at scenic locations across Los Angeles County that led to the killings of one man in the Angeles National Forest and a couple in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Pasadena police Lt. Keith Gomez announced the arrests during a news conference Wednesday, July 26. He declined to identify the suspects, but did say they are all believed to be part of a violent street gang targeting victims parked in turnabouts overlooking vistas.
“In most cases, the victims were distracted when they were assaulted,” Gomez said. “We believe the motive was robbery.”
Four firearms were recovered at the time of the arrests, police said.
Pasadena police responded to reports of a shooting about 3 a.m. Saturday, July 22, in the Angeles National Forest and found a crashed vehicle off the Angeles Crest Highway. The driver, Jessie Munoz, 32, of Los Angeles, had been shot multiple times and died at the scene. A female passenger in the vehicle was not injured, according to police.
Two days later, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responding to a 9-1-1 call discovered a sedan riddled with bullets at a beachside parking lot overlooking Pelican Cove in Rancho Palos Verdes. Both the driver, Jorge Ramos, 36, and his passenger, TaylorRaven Whittaker, 26, died from their injuries.
Gomez said investigators believe the two cases are linked, though he declined to provide specifics because the Rancho Palos Verdes homicides are being investigated by the Sheriff’s Department.
“We believe there is a connection between our suspects and the double homicide in Rancho Palos Verdes” and potentially other robberies in other jurisdictions, Gomez said.
Pasadena police used undisclosed technology to identify two suspects and a suspect vehicle from the Angeles National Forest incident. They assembled a team that found the suspects in Panorama City on Tuesday night, seemingly preparing to commit additional robberies. Gomez said police believed intervention at that time was “absolutely crucial.”
“It was a strategic decision to take them into custody when we did,” Gomez said.
Pasadena police would not identify the suspects because detectives are still working with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office to determine the charges for each of them. Gomez, who described the crimes as “ruthless,” said the charges are expected to include murder, robbery and weapons violations.
Officials with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on the arrest of the suspects due to an ongoing investigation. The District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday a case involving the slayings had not been presented to the office yet.
Devin Whittaker, the father of the woman killed in Rancho Palos Verdes, said he has had little contact with authorities and hasn’t been given information about the arrests. He described Whittaker — the youngest of his two daughters — as a “lovely young lady.”
Ramos was a member of the Team Subaru15 SoCal car club, which paid tribute to him in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“It is with heavy hearts that we confirm that our beloved brother Jorge has passed away,” the post says. “This loss comes as a surprise to all of us. It is a shocking thing to start your day with, in what ultimately is a private family matter. Join us in lifting a member of the Subaru Community and S15 SoCal OG to his resting place in the sky.”