A 30-year-old man was killed in Compton when he was struck by a vehicle driven by a man with whom he had had a fight, authorities said Tuesday.
The incident was reported at 10:56 p.m. Monday in the area of Cypress and Crane streets where the victim was with some friends, said Deputy Kelvin Moody of the Sheriff's Information Bureau.
The victim's friends said they were there to visit him outside of the business where he works as a security guard. It was his second day on the job, but he was not working at the time of the incident.
They identified him as Mario Melbourne, 30, of north Long Beach. He was the father of a 7-year-old boy.
The suspect, whom the friends say was a friend of Melbourne, drove up to the group, exited his vehicle, and began arguing with the victim, Moody said. Melbourne accused the suspect of stealing from him in the past, and told the suspect he did not want to be associated with him anymore, according to Sgt. Guillermo Morales of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department's Homicide Bureau.
The argument led to a fist fight.
Then, the suspect re-entered his car and began to drive away before he made a U-turn and struck the victim, Moody said. Melbourne was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The suspect fled eastbound on Cypress Street in a gray older model BMW, which was located a few blocks from the scene around 7:30 a.m., sheriff's officials said.
Morales identified the suspect as 44-year-old Frankie Mazen III.
Toni Guinyard and City News Service contributed to this report.
