LOS ANGELES _ Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore announced charges Tuesday against three people in connection with the fatal shooting of an off-duty Los Angeles police officer at a taco stand in Lincoln Heights last month.
The three _ two men and a woman _ were identified as Francisco Talamantes, 23; Cristian Facundo, 20; and Ashlynn Smith, 18. All three are residents of Temecula and were being held without bail since their arrest on Friday.
Talamantes and Facundo face charges including murder with special circumstance and other counts. Smith faces charges including shooting into an inhabited vehicle and accessory to murder. Moore called it a part of a larger crime spree that took 90 minutes.
Friday's arrests ended a six-day manhunt after law enforcement sources say Officer Juan Jose Diaz confronted a tagger near the taco stand. The tagger left the scene but later returned with a group of young men and began threatening the 24-year-old Diaz, his girlfriend and her two brothers. One of the men lifted his shirt to reveal a handgun.
Diaz, who was off duty, and his group tried to hurry to their car and drive away to avoid a violent confrontation, a source said. As they got into the vehicle, the gunman opened fire, fatally wounding Diaz and injuring one of his girlfriend's brothers.
Investigators had been working nonstop but finally got a break last week when they learned the identity of the alleged triggerman.
Using surveillance by plainclothes detectives and intelligence, Robbery-Homicide Division detectives were able to track down those believed to be involved in the shooting, Los Angeles Police Department sources said. The department's Special Investigation Section, a unit known for its advanced surveillance techniques, had the suspects under watch for at least a couple of days as detectives put together evidence tying them to the killing, the sources said.
SWAT teams and Metropolitan Division officers were then brought in to help take the suspects into custody Friday morning.
The gunman claimed allegiance to the Avenues, a gang that has seen its once-powerful grip on the neighborhood wane in the last decade, and said Diaz and his group were in its territory, a law enforcement source said. The suspects taken into custody were Avenues gang members, according to a source familiar with the arrests.
Diaz lived in Cypress Park, just three miles north of the neighborhood where he was killed.
He joined the LAPD two years ago and was assigned to the Special Operations Division, which conducts investigations into department personnel.
Friends and family said Diaz pursued a career in law enforcement to make a difference. He had wanted to be a cop since preschool, a family member told mourners at a vigil for the slain officer Saturday night.
Diaz will be laid to rest on Monday.
