Burned Body Identified, 3 People Arrested

Some first thought the burned body was that of a missing college student

Detectives arrested three people who allegedly killed a man over an unpaid debt in Hawthorne and left his body burning in the hills of Castaic, authorities said Wednesday.

Siblings Luis and Joanna Amezcua, 22 and 23, and Javier Vega were arrested Friday on suspicion of killing Lamondre Miles, 35, of South Los Angeles, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker.

On Tuesday, prosecutors charged the Amezcuas with murder. Vega, Joanna Amezcua's boyfriend, was charged with arson and being an accessory to murder, he said.

Miles' body was discovered near where college student Bryce Laspisa, 19, went missing days earlier. The announcement on Wednesday put to rest days of speculation that the body may have been Laspisa's.

About 2 p.m. on Sept. 3, Miles was riding with the suspects in a black, 2007 Chevy Monte Carlo on Crenshaw Boulevard near the 105 Freeway in Hawthorne. The suspects allegedly shot Miles several times in the torso.

Miles' burning body was found the following morning.

The Amezcuas were being held on $1 million bail. Vega was being held on $575,000 bail.

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