Man Leads Deputies On Pursuit After Allegedly Killing Woman
LYNWOOD (CBSLA.com) — A pursuit suspect was in sheriff's custody Friday morning after allegedly shooting a woman and then pushing her out of his car as he fled.
According to authorities, a deputy was trying to make a routine traffic stop around 11:15 p.m. in the 4100 block of Alma Avenue in Lynwood when he witnessed the suspect, Juan Diego Valencia, allegedly shoot a Hispanic woman in his car.
"When the vehicle stopped, the deputy saw a flash and heard a loud gunshot," Lt. Holly Francisco said.
Following the shooting, Valencia took off at a high rate of speed and a pursuit ensued, Francisco said.
Valencia, 30, reportedly dumped the woman's body at the intersection of Josephine Street and Harris Avenue in Lynwood.
"The victim was pronounced dead at the scene with an apparent gunshot wound to her upper torso," sheriff's officials said in a statement.
The chase continued to Hawthorne where Valencia bailed from his vehicle and took off on foot for his apartment in the 14000 block of Chadron Avenue.
Residents in the apartment complex and surrounding area were ordered to evacuate.
Valencia barricaded himself in the apartment until approximately 1:50 a.m. when he voluntarily "surrendered to a Special Weapons Team and a weapon was recovered," officials said.
He has been booked at the Century Regional Detention Facility for murder. Valencia is being held on $1 million bail.
Friday afternoon, authorities identified the dead woman as 24-year-old Selene Patricia Mayoral.
Suraya Fadel, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, spoke to Mayoral's friends and neighbors.
She reports, "Mayoral is remembered as a sweet and loving woman. She grew up in LA, worked at a warehouse and was going to school."
Mayoral is the youngest of two and lived with her parents in an apartment in Cudahy. The parents have not been seen, reports Fadel, since the tragedy involving their daughter unfolded.
Next door neighbor Julio Cesar Vazquez told Fadel, in Spanish, that he was still "in shock."
Fadel reports the alleged killer has had prior run-ins with the law. Officials would not discuss the relationship between victim and suspect but told Fadel "they knew each other."
