Recently in Wilmington Category

Jesus Sedillo smiled and blew kisses at his family in the Long Beach courtroom before heading into the lock-up to begin the rest of his life in prison - without the possibility of ever getting out. He was sentenced today for the murders of Manuel Lopez, 17, of Wilmington on Sept. 23, 2006, in a car-to-pedestrian shooting at Bayview Avenue and F Street and Richard Romero, 18, of Wilmington, about six weeks later.

During the last crime, Sedillo wore a wolf mask as he shot from his car into the vehicle carrying Romero, his cousin Edward Villegas and his sister, Jessica Romero, near Pacific Coast Highway and Broad Avenue.

Full story will be up later on a contentious hearing on Sedillo's new trial motion and Romero's mother's tearful courtroom statement 

Jesus Miguel Sedillo, 22, of Carson, was convicted of killing Manuel Lopez, 17, and Richard Romero, 19, both of Wilmington in two separate shootings in 2006.

Romero was killed on Halloween night as he sat in a car with his sister and cousin. Sedillo wore a wolf mask during the crime.

We'll have a full story later in the Daily Breeze and online at www.dailybreeze.com.

Just talked to LAPD Harbor division Detective Alonzo Canada. Investigators are looking for this guy, James Laudermill, who police say stabbed the owner of a trucking business in Wilmington last night.

Two trucking businesses share the property in the 800 block of Henry Ford Avenue. Laudermill, 49, works as a driver for the other one.

Canada told me that Laudermill was allowed into Mejia's business about 11 p.m. Monday because he wanted to get some food in the kitchen.

Then, without warning, he walked up behind Mejia and stabbed him in the back. They fought and he stabbed him again, Canada said.

Laudermill took off in a green 1994 Freightliner big rig with the California license plate number, 9B96467.

Mejia is in the hospital and expected to recover.

According to a police statement, Laudermill is a "parolee with an extensive, violent arrest history." He is considered armed and dangerous.

Laudermill is black, 6 feet 1 inches tall, about 230 pounds. He has an address in South Los Angeles.

Anyone with information should call Canada at 310-522-2031. After hours calls can go to 1-877-LAPD-24-7.

The Los Angeles Times' LA Now blog says that the first of two funeral services for the Lupoe family is set for tonight. Here's their report.

Here's our previous entries on last week's murder suicide that claimed seven, including five children.

I received this from a reader who went to school with Ervin Lupoe, the man who massacred his family in Wilmington and killed himself:

"I knew Tony personally though I haven't spoken to him in the last three years. I went to junior high and high School with him, he was my boyfriend at that time.

I reconnected with him three years ago after 20 years of not hearing from him. At that time we talked on the phone and by email about what had become of each other.

He shared pics of his family and at that time was expecting his second set of twins and later sent pictures of them when they were born.

My suspicions of him not being truthful at that time have been confirmed by news reports (assuming they are true.) He had told me he and his wife were doctors, that he had previously been a cop with the LAPD for seven years and had been shot seven times, and so on.

Seemed like a stretch at the time but I remember him stretching the truth quite a bit back in school (I never called him on it though.)

He also alluded to being a doctor on the High School Alumni website where I first made contact with him three years ago (his posting is still there). I got a bad feeling about him so decided not to make an effort speak to him further.

Things happened in junior high that were disturbing also. I just don't think he was a stable person looking back on everything. I don't believe his wife was anything but a victim of this along with his kids.

Whatever fraud was committed does not surprise me. Seems that was just the type of person Tony was from very early on. The murdering of his entire family...what a horrible, horrible thing to do and I wouldn't expect that from anyone. But he most definitely had a temper, a scary violent streak that I had hoped he had outgrown. Anyway, I just wanted to shed some light on Tony."

WILMINGTON (CNS) - Here is a redacted text of the letter sent to ABC7
today by Ervin Lupoe, who is believed to have killed his wife and five children
today at their home in Wilmington. A redacted copy of the letter was posted on
the ABC7 Web site.
   ``To whom it may concern:
   ``To start off about this tragic story, my name is Ervin Lupoe, my wife
Ana Lupoe, my eldest daughter Brittney Lupoe-8yrs, my twin daughters Jaszmin,
Jassely-5yrs, my twin boys Benjamin, Christian 2yrs 4mo.
   ``We worked at Kiaser (sic) Permanente West Los Angeles. My wife as a
mammo. Tech. damn fine one ask everyone including the physicians. My new
position as a Special procedural tech. My position was a fight to get, in fact
had to file a grievance with the union for discrimination and HIPPA violations,
then another administrator had to correct the DA (redacted) regarding the union
procedures, the ADA who did this is, I truly believe is the reason, well not
the whole reason, but added kindling to the fire, why we are dead, (redacted).
   ``Well my wife and I were being investigated for misrepresentation of
our employment to an outside agency for the benefit to ourselves's, childcare.
When after we had our initial interview on Dec. 19th. It seems our fat with the
company had been decided on Dec. 22nd, yet on the 23rd, I was told by my
administrator, (redacted) that, `You should not even had bothered to come to
work today you should have blown your brains out.' After such admonishment from
my administrator, assuming there had been a decision reached, I contacted my
union rep. who stated goto HR and inform them of the incident, and to the union
reps. knowledge there was no decision made.
   ``(redacted) the HR person handling our matter stated that there was no
decision reached as of yet and that an outside agency was handling the matter.
(redacted) stated to me that she had spoken to (redacted) and (redacted)
concerning the statement made, but (redacted) completely denied making such a
comment. I produced the names of the employees, and (redacted) reached me two
days later stating (redacted) thought about the matter and did state (redacted)
made the comment. Then (redacted) asked me how I would accept (redacted)
apology, but not to answer just yet, think about it a couple days and let
(redacted) know. I left the office and two days later my wife and I were
terminated. Our administrator also stated that we would not be eligible for
unemployment, my wife applied anyway.
   ``We returned Kiaser (sic) Permanente's property prior to leaving the
facility, yet the company could not provide us with our license's so that we
may look for other employment. I let the (redacted) of the facility know what
was occurring yet she stated there was nothing she could do but refer us the HR
or our union rep. We were told by (redacted) that we should have received our
license's as they were mailed, yet we did not and when we attempted to reach
her concerning the matter and unable to reach her, again we reached the
assistant administrator of the facility who again stated the same to contact
HR. We stated we have attempter (sic) but there was know response. Then when
(redacted) reached us, she stated don't contact (redacted) ... any more
concerning any problems.
   ``So after a horrendous ordeal my wife felt it better to end our lives
and why leave our children in someone's else's hands, in addition it seems
Kiaser Permanente want's us to kill ourselves and take our family with us. They
did nothing to the manager who stated such, and did not attempt to assist us in
the matter, knowing we have no job and 5 children under 8 years with no place
to go. So here we are.
   ``Ervin Lupoe
   ``(Handwritten:) Oh Lord my God is there no hope for a widow's son!''

The Los Angeles Police Department's Harbor Division was evacuated for more than an hour today while the bomb squad investigated a suspicious package. Officer Ana Aguirre said the call came in just after noon about a box left in the lobby of the station at 221 N. Bayview Ave. in Wilmington.

The station was evacuated "as a precaution," Aguirre said, while an X-ray machine on a robot was sent in. The box's contents were determined to be harmless, and everyone returned just after 2:40 p.m., Aguirre said.

Maybe you heard it or saw it. I'm told it was quite a crash.

A guy driving along Island Avenue in Wilmington blew through a stop sign at 10:30 a.m. and struck a car at C Street.

That was unfortunate. It contained three Harbor Division officers on their way to an investigation in an unmarked car.

LAPD Sgt. Michelle Santillan told me it looked worse than it appeared. The officers were taken to Little Company of Mary Hospital- San Pedro for treatment of minor injuries and were released.

The other motorist was treated at County Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and released.

CHiPs is handling it, but I couldn't find out if the dude got a ticket.

A Wilmington woman was shot and killed and two of her passengers were wounded as she drove in the southwest Los Angeles area, authorities said today.

One of the wounded victims was a 13-year-old girl.

The woman killed was identified as Stephanie Latrice Smith, 37, of Wilmington. She died shortly after the 9 p.m. shootin gSunday at 102nd Street and Denker
Avenue.

The suspect was in a champagne-colored car, possibly a Nissan Maxima or Altima, police said.

Info from City News Service

I'm still catching-up with my cases after a couple of weeks of a lot of time in court, and out sick. Here's one from early last week:

Two Wilmington men are in state prison for holding up a Torrance sandwich shop.
Pedro Nunez, 24, and Matthew Acosta, 21, each pleaded no contest on Nov. 17 to four robbery charges for the March 11 crime. In exchange for the pleas, Torrance Superior Court Judge James Brandlin sentenced Nunez to 16 years in state prison and Acosta to 18 years, according to Acosta's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Joe Gualano.

The pair entered The Sub Club deli in the 4300 block of Pacific Coast Highway near Anza Avenue, around lunchtime. One of them, wielding an assault rifle, entered the rear of the shop at 12:15 p.m. The other entered the front door with a handgun. Six employees and customers were held at gunpoint while they were robbed of wallets, cash and jewelry. The robbers also took the cash in the register.

 As they fled, a witness took down the license plate number of their car. Undercover detectives spent the next few days watching Nunez and Acosta and arrested them at Fries Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington. They confessed to the police.