Police: Man Found Dead In Toluca Lake Apartment Complex Was Armenian Gang Member
TOLUCA LAKE (CBSLA.com) — A man's body was found Tuesday in an apartment complex in Toluca Lake, north of the Cahuenga Pass.
The remains were found about 1:30 p.m. in the parking structure of the Toluca Hills Apartments at 3600 Barham Blvd., northeast of Universal Studios.
The victim, 30 to 35 years old, died of a gunshot wound, according to police.
The complex was formerly known as Oakwood Apartments, which provided temporary housing to child actors and up-and-coming stars in Hollywood. Singer Rick James lived there and was found dead there in 2004.
Mehdi Dumartin was shocked to hear the news. "Usually, it's very quiet. I love this place. I'm surprised," he said.
"I was out for most of the day. When I came back here, I heard the bang. I didn't expect it to be a gunshot or anything. I thought it was a car backfiring," Ricky Cruz said.
"I just saw a woman crying and screaming and really, really screaming, and 30 police officers all around. So I was like - what's going on?" Dumartin said.
A source at the Los Angeles Police Department told CBS2's Rachel Kim that the victim was an Armenian gang member who was executed, and that this murder was related to another Armenian gang murder being investigated by another LAPD unit.
