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* PHOTOS AVAILABLE BY CLICKING ON NAMES *
The Long Beach Police Department is pleased to announce charges have
been filed by by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office,
against two suspects for the murder of five individuals at a homeless
encampment in 2008.
On Sunday, November 2, 2008, Long Beach police officers were dispatched
to the area of Santa Fe Avenue and Wardlow Road regarding a 9-1-1 call
where the caller stated that someone had been killed. Officers from the
Long Beach Police Department, with the assistance of the California
Highway Patrol, searched the thick brush in the area near the Santa Fe
Avenue off-ramp of the 405 Freeway. There they discovered the bodies of
five deceased individuals that had been shot multiple times in a
homeless encampment that contained numerous tents, carpeting, a tarp
roof, and other things that made it their home.
The five victims were identified by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office as:
Name: Age: City of Residence:
Vanessa Malaepule 34-years-old Carson
Katherine Lynn Verdun 24-years-old Long Beach
Hamid Shraifat 41-years-old Signal Hill
Long Beach Police Department Homicide Detectives Mark
McGuire and Hugo Cortes were assigned this case and began vigorously
investigating the incident. Due to the isolated encampment, the task of
finding witnesses to the incident was difficult. With the assistance
of detectives from the Long Beach Police Department’s Career Criminal
Apprehension Team (C-CAT), detectives scoured the area contacting
potential witnesses. Additionally, detectives worked with the City’s
homeless program to identify potential witnesses they may come into
contact with.
All of these efforts paid off for detectives who were able to recreate
each of the victim’s backgrounds to identify known associates through
interviews. Within a few weeks of the murders, homicide detectives had
identified an unreported incident where Victim Villicana was robbed and
assaulted a week prior to the murder by the following suspect:
Name: Age: City of Residence:
David Ponce 31 Lancaster
On November 21, 2008, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, at the
request of Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe, offered a $20,000
reward for information relating to this investigation.
Over the course of the last 3 years, detectives continued to investigate
the robbery and the potential relation to the murders. Detectives were
able to establish that there was an ongoing dispute between Victim
Villicana and Suspect Ponce, who is a documented gang-member.
Detectives believe that this ongoing dispute over a narcotics debt
resulted in Suspect Ponce plotting the murder of Victim Villicana, which
included him recruiting an additional suspect to assist him. That
additional suspect, a documented gang-member of the same gang, is
identified as:
Name: Age: City of Residence:
Max Rafael 25 Los Angeles
The investigation revealed that on the day of the murders, Suspects
Ponce and Rafael accosted Victim Shraifat while looking for the
encampment. At gunpoint, they forced Shraifat to take them to the
encampment where Victim Villicana lived. Once at the encampment,
Villicana was murdered. The four other victims were also executed to
ensure there were no witnesses to the crime.
Due to the nature of the crimes, the Los Angeles County District
Attorney’s Office assigned Special Deputy District Attorney (DDA) Eric
Harmon from the Major Crimes Unit to this case. On January 18, 2012,
DDA Harmon filed charges that included murder, kidnapping conspiracy and
possession of a firearm by a felon with gun and gang allegations
against Suspects Ponce and Rafael.
Suspect Ponce was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department (LASD) in August of 2010 and Suspect Rafael was also arrested
by LASD in June of 2011, both for ex-felon with a firearm. The Long
Beach Police Department would like to thank the Los Angeles County
Sheriff’s Homicide and Major Crimes Units for their assistance in making
these arrests.
During the course of this investigation, homicide detectives have
identified at least three additional murders for which Suspect Ponce may
be responsible. Two of these crimes occurred in the downtown area of
Long Beach and are still under investigation. The third occurred in the
City of Lancaster and was investigated by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Homicide. The Sheriff’s Department presented this case to DDA Harmon
who filed an additional count of murder against David Ponce. Detectives
believe that Suspect Rafael may also be involved in additional murders
in Los Angeles County. Both of their photos are being released hoping
that someone may recognize them for their involvement and will come
forward.
Anyone who may have any additional information regarding the unsolved
murders should contact Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Mark
McGuire and Hugo Cortes at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be
submitted via text or web by visiting www.tipsoft.com.
This information is preliminary and has not been completely
verified. It is based in part on hearsay and is intended for early
information use rather than being a formal investigative report.
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