Parolee Charged With Murder, Attempted Murder Of Ex In 4-Day Crime Spree
COVINA (CBSLA.com) — A parolee accused of killing a homeless man and shooting at his ex-girlfriend during a four-day crime spree now faces multiple charges.
Covina police accuse Manuel Lujan, a Cyclones gang member, of committing an assault with a handgun in Valinda, an unincorporated area of L.A. County, on April 26, and committing a robbery minutes later.
The spree allegedly continued with the murder of Jabarri Butts, a homeless man, on April 29, after which police say Lujan drove to Covina and shot at his ex-girlfriend.
Lujan was taken into custody in Gardena April 30.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney Friday charged him with murder, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, shooting at an inhabited dwelling and brandishing a firearm.
Covina police believe Lujan threw a rock at his ex-girlfriend's window before he shot and her and missed.
Neighbors saw the woman being treated on a gurney.
"I heard five gun shots. First one, followed by four more," Emanuel Dimas told CBS2/KCAL9 Monday.
"[She] seemed scared but she seemed OK. It was hard to see. It was at night," Covina resident Anthony Salgado added.
Investigators say Lujan's current girlfriend, Melissa Alvardo, was along for the ride. She was arrested for conspiracy.
From behind the screen door, Alvardo's father told us his daughter's boyfriend is a quiet guy.
"I heard something like that, but my daughter says she don't know nothing about that stuff," he said. "He's not a viscous, violent kind of guy."
But police describe Lujan as an extremely violent man responsible for the four-day crime spree.
Police are looking through surveillance video as the investigation continues.
Lujan is next due in court Tuesday.
