Shooting Los Angeles County

A South Bay criminal defense lawyer Wednesday was found guilty of murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, who witnesses said had pleaded for her life before she was shot. A Compton Superior Court jury agreed with prosecution assertions that James Vincent Robelen, 55, killed his girlfriend and paralegal, Pamela Puzach, 44, after an argument on Jan. 26, 1992, in her Torrance apartment. Robelen faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Sept.

A South Bay criminal defense lawyer Wednesday was found guilty of murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, who witnesses said had pleaded for her life before she was shot. A Compton Superior Court jury agreed with prosecution assertions that James Vincent Robelen, 55, killed his girlfriend and paralegal, Pamela Puzach, 44, after an argument on Jan. 26, 1992, in her Torrance apartment. Robelen faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Sept.

After a shooting at Columbia Regional Park last weekend, Torrance officials have taken the unusual step of closing the park's basketball court and removing the hoops. Homeowners near the park have long complained about "non-residents" using the court and causing trouble. But local basketball players, many of them Torrance residents, are criticizing the move, saying that curbing recreation is not the way to fight crime.

After a shooting at Columbia Regional Park last weekend, Torrance officials have taken the unusual step of closing the park's basketball court and removing the hoops. Homeowners near the park have long complained about "non-residents" using the court and causing trouble. But local basketball players, many of them Torrance residents, are criticizing the move, saying that curbing recreation is not the way to fight crime.

An Inglewood man killed his 4-year-old son, apparently accidentally, while showing off his revolver to the boy and another son, authorities said Saturday. Jesus Zubia, 24, told Inglewood police he shot his son at their home about 7 p.m. Friday after he pulled the trigger repeatedly, thinking the weapon was unloaded. But the gun fired once, striking the 4-year-old in the head, Sgt. Ed Eccles said. The boy, whose name was not released, died at Martin Luther King Jr.

A young couple is about to celebrate their one-year anniversary, but the girlfriend doesn't know it yet. When she shows up to see her boyfriend at work, under the guise that she's going to be an extra on a film set, he surprises her with a marriage proposal. The couple then watch their own private fireworks show. The scene, filmed recently on Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey, was for an upcoming episode for the third season of “Ultimate Surprises," a Web series for Yahoo that has filmed in such locations as the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona, Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach and Seabridge Park in Huntington Beach.

A jewelry store owner shot an intruder to death during an attempted robbery Tuesday, authorities said. The owner opened fire after three armed men entered the store in the 200 block of East Sepulveda Boulevard about 4:45 p.m., demanded jewels and cash, and started shooting, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said. The intruders fled, apparently empty-handed, and the one who had been shot collapsed and died in a nearby market.

Authorities on Wednesday released the identity of a Lancaster man who was fatally shot after an argument with his roommate. Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Scott Carrier said the man, Mark Hayes, 45, died Tuesday at Antelope Valley Hospital. Hayes' roommate, Stanley Gordon, 49, was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the shooting, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said.

Lennox shooting: In the July 25 California section, a photograph of Lennox resident Christian Portillo, which accompanied a story about his fatal shooting by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, was credited to Times photographer Al Seib. The photo was provided by Portillo's family.

Three men were found dead Thursday in a house in Paramount in an apparently drug-related shooting, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said. Officers responded to a call of shots being fired at a residence in the 15000 block of San Jose Avenue and found three men shot to death in a bedroom, Deputy Rafael Estrada said. The unidentified men lived at the house, he said. Deputies found nearly nine pounds of cocaine and a .38-caliber automatic pistol.

An Inglewood man killed his 4-year-old son, apparently accidentally, while showing off his revolver to the boy and another son, authorities said Saturday. Jesus Zubia, 24, told Inglewood police he shot his son at their home about 7 p.m. Friday after he pulled the trigger repeatedly, thinking the weapon was unloaded. But the gun fired once, striking the 4-year-old in the head, Sgt. Ed Eccles said. The boy, whose name was not released, died at Martin Luther King Jr.

A 16-year-old boy died Sunday in an apparent gang-related shooting, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman said. Deputies discovered Jason Ledesma around 3 p.m. in the 17900 block of East Valley Boulevard, said Deputy Richard Li. Ledesma had been shot several times, and deputies determined the incident was gang-related, Li said. Ledesma died at the scene, authorities said.

A suspect in the fatal shooting of Los Angeles County Police Capt. Michael Sparkes was arrested Wednesday. Miguel Migallon, 21, faces charges of murder and attempted robbery. Officials had delayed booking Migallon while he was being treated for a wound police say was inflicted in a gun battle in which Sparkes was killed. A second suspect, Orvis Camilo Anthony, 19, of Gardena was arrested earlier and pleaded not guilty in the killing.