Three suspects have been arrested and charged in the death of a man found burning in Castaic on Wednesday, Sept. 4. The victim has been identified as Lamondre Deon Miles, a 35-year-old resident of the Florence-Firestone area of South Los Angeles.
At 6 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, a man’s body was found in the Castaic area on Lake Hughes Road when Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters extinguished a small fire at the site.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide investigators learned that the man suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his upper torso and was dead prior to being driven to the Castaic area and set afire.
Sheriff’s investigators followed several leads including, but not limited to the use of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) technology.
Working with Hawthorne Police detectives, it was determined that the crime had occurred in a car in the vicinity of Crenshaw Boulevard and the 105 Freeway, in the City of Hawthorne, on Sept. 3, at approximately 2 pm. The car is a black 2007 Chevy Monte Carlo, California License plate number 6WUH536 and has been impounded by investigators.
Sheriff’s Homicide investigators continued their investigation which resulted in the arrest of two suspects by sheriff’s detectives at their homes in South Los Angeles on Friday, Sept. 6.
23-year old Suspect Joanna Amezcua, and her brother, 22-year old Luis Amezcua, both from South Los Angeles, were charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office with one count of murder each on Tuesday, September 10, 2013. Bail was set at $1,000,000. A third suspect, 33-year old Javier Vega (Joanna’s Amezcua’s boyfriend) also from South Los Angeles, was also charged September 10 with Accessory to Murder and Arson. His bail was set at $575,000.
The motive of the crime appears to be a dispute over money allegedly owed by the victim to the suspects.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
Burned-Body Victim Identified; 3 in Custody
