Three suspects were arrested in the ambush shooting deaths of three women in January outside a rental home in Los Angeles' Beverly Crest neighborhood.
Daries Stanford, 28, Dontae Williams, 22, and DeJean Thompkins, 28, were all arrested in the past few weeks, police said. Thompkins and Williams are both in custody in Chicago. Stanford is in custody in New York.
Thompkins and Williams are awaiting extradition to Los Angeles. All of the suspects have gang ties, according to police. Police said Thompkins also is connected to the December killing in North Hollywood. That victim also was from Chicago.
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Details about a motive in the triple-murder were not available, but authorities said the shooting stemmed from gang activity in Chicago.
LAPD Capt. Jonathan Tippet said the three women killed in the Beverly Crest area were not believed to have been the intended targets of the gunmen. Iyana Hutton, 33, of Chicago; Nenah Davis, 29, of Boilingbrook, Illinois; and Destiny Sims, 26, of Buckeye, Arizona, were found dead in a car parked in the 2700 block of North Ellison Drive early Jan. 28.
Other people at the gathering were shot, but survived.
"A group of young adults that had known each other growing up came out to Los Angeles in support of a Chicago rapper,'' Tippet said. "They rented a vacation rental, and on the night of the incident, while returning home from a night of bowling, an ambush-style attack occurred that left three people dead and four others shot. Two of those were in critical condition but thankfully survived.''
The car was parked outside a home that was being rented for a gathering. At least 30 shots were fired and several cars were seen leaving the location near Coldwater Canyon Drive.
One neighbor said the gunfire left bullet holes in the side of his home. A bullet shattered his front window, entered his family room and hit a wall inside his house. Another bullet hit the front of his home and two more bullets were found in his backyard and side yard.
One of the cars seen leaving the area was a blue four-door Tesla with damage to the passenger-side fender and no license plates. Tips from witnesses who saw a vehicle matching that description in the West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills areas led investigators to an apartment in the 8600 block of Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
The apartment was empty, but detectives processed the residence for evidence left behind. It was not immediately clear whether items found at the apartment led to the three arrests.
The three suspects were charged with multiple counts of murder. In a rare move, the office has also filed special circumstance allegations in the case, which could lead to sentences of life in prison without parole.
Stanford and Williams were both charged with three counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and six counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Thompkins was charged with four counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and six counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
“This was a careless and senseless act that has left the victims’ families stunned and devastated,” District Attorney George Gascón said. “This is another example of the widespread damage that can be done by gun violence. We must do more – whether it is through legislation or education -- to stop mass shootings in order to make every community in Los Angeles County safer.”
