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Byron Miller, 51, of Buena Park died from his injuries on March 21 following a Central Long Beach shooting on Feb. 22 that also killed Lavelle Brandon, 45, of Long Beach.
Miller, Brandon and a 49-year-old woman were all shot around 10:45 a.m. near the intersection of E. 25th Street and Elm Avenue, police said.
Anyone with any information regarding the incident is urged to contact LBPD Homicide Detectives Oscar Valenzuela or Eric Thai at 562-570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted through “LA Crime Stoppers” by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the “P3 Tips” app to your smartphone (available at the Apple app store or Google Play), or by visiting www.LACrimeStoppers.org.
On Jan. 7-8, 2021, the Long Beach Police Department arrested 4 suspects in connection with the Dec. 16, 2020 shooting death of 14-year-old Long Beach resident Arthur Touch.
Through their investigation, detectives uncovered evidence indicating that a dispute took place between the victim and the four suspects. The dispute escalated to a physical assault which led to the victim being shot prior to the suspects fleeing the scene.
“Any loss of life due to violence is unacceptable, but the murder of a 14-year-old should be an outrage to our entire community,” stated Chief of Police Robert G. Luna. “I want to thank our Special Investigations Division detectives for their relentless efforts to identify and arrest the suspects responsible for this senseless crime.”
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“Any loss of life due to violence is unacceptable, but the murder of a 14-year-old should be an outrage to our entire community,” said LBPD Police Chief Robert Luna.
Touch was described as a nice, quiet kid who was athletically gifted and bright.
Touch was found on the 1400 block of St. Louis Avenue on Dec. 16 with gunshot wounds in his upper body. He died at the scene.
Police now believe a dispute between the victim and four suspects escalated into a physical assault, which then led to the shooting, officials said.
They executed three search warrants at addresses in the Poly High and Washington neighborhoods and arrested four men on suspicion of murder: 19-year-old Jose Martinez, 18-year-old Jacob Valentin, 25-year-old Junior Parra and 23-year-old Ricardo Parra. They are all being held on a $2 million bail.
On Dec. 16, 2020, at approximately 8:50 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of St. Louis Avenue to assist the Long Beach Fire Department with a gunshot wound victim, which resulted in the death of a male.
Responding officers learned that, prior to their arrival, the victim was determined deceased by Long Beach Fire Department personnel. The original calling party had reported a male who fell and appeared injured in the street. When fire personnel located the victim in the roadway, they observed apparent gunshot wounds to his upper torso and called for police response.
The victim is only being identified as a male at this time, with age unknown. The Los Angeles County Department of the Medical Examiner-Coroner will work to identify the victim and notify next of kin.