* PHOTOS AVAILABLE BY CLICKING ON NAMES *
The Long Beach Police Department is pleased to announce charges have been filed by by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, against two suspects for the murder of five individuals at a homeless encampment in 2008.
On Sunday, November 2, 2008, Long Beach police officers were dispatched to the area of Santa Fe Avenue and Wardlow Road regarding a 9-1-1 call where the caller stated that someone had been killed. Officers from the Long Beach Police Department, with the assistance of the California Highway Patrol, searched the thick brush in the area near the Santa Fe Avenue off-ramp of the 405 Freeway. There they discovered the bodies of five deceased individuals that had been shot multiple times in a homeless encampment that contained numerous tents, carpeting, a tarp roof, and other things that made it their home.
The five victims were identified by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office as:
Name: Age: City of Residence:
Vanessa Malaepule 34-years-old Carson
Katherine Lynn Verdun 24-years-old Long Beach
Hamid Shraifat 41-years-old Signal Hill
Long Beach Police Department Homicide Detectives Mark McGuire and Hugo Cortes were assigned this case and began vigorously investigating the incident. Due to the isolated encampment, the task of finding witnesses to the incident was difficult. With the assistance of detectives from the Long Beach Police Department’s Career Criminal Apprehension Team (C-CAT), detectives scoured the area contacting potential witnesses. Additionally, detectives worked with the City’s homeless program to identify potential witnesses they may come into contact with.
All of these efforts paid off for detectives who were able to recreate each of the victim’s backgrounds to identify known associates through interviews. Within a few weeks of the murders, homicide detectives had identified an unreported incident where Victim Villicana was robbed and assaulted a week prior to the murder by the following suspect:
Name: Age: City of Residence:
David Ponce 31 Lancaster
On November 21, 2008, Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, at the request of Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe, offered a $20,000 reward for information relating to this investigation.
Over the course of the last 3 years, detectives continued to investigate the robbery and the potential relation to the murders. Detectives were able to establish that there was an ongoing dispute between Victim Villicana and Suspect Ponce, who is a documented gang-member. Detectives believe that this ongoing dispute over a narcotics debt resulted in Suspect Ponce plotting the murder of Victim Villicana, which included him recruiting an additional suspect to assist him. That additional suspect, a documented gang-member of the same gang, is identified as:
Name: Age: City of Residence:
Max Rafael 25 Los Angeles
The investigation revealed that on the day of the murders, Suspects Ponce and Rafael accosted Victim Shraifat while looking for the encampment. At gunpoint, they forced Shraifat to take them to the encampment where Victim Villicana lived. Once at the encampment, Villicana was murdered. The four other victims were also executed to ensure there were no witnesses to the crime.
Due to the nature of the crimes, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office assigned Special Deputy District Attorney (DDA) Eric Harmon from the Major Crimes Unit to this case. On January 18, 2012, DDA Harmon filed charges that included murder, kidnapping conspiracy and possession of a firearm by a felon with gun and gang allegations against Suspects Ponce and Rafael.
Suspect Ponce was arrested by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) in August of 2010 and Suspect Rafael was also arrested by LASD in June of 2011, both for ex-felon with a firearm. The Long Beach Police Department would like to thank the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide and Major Crimes Units for their assistance in making these arrests.
During the course of this investigation, homicide detectives have identified at least three additional murders for which Suspect Ponce may be responsible. Two of these crimes occurred in the downtown area of Long Beach and are still under investigation. The third occurred in the City of Lancaster and was investigated by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide. The Sheriff’s Department presented this case to DDA Harmon who filed an additional count of murder against David Ponce. Detectives believe that Suspect Rafael may also be involved in additional murders in Los Angeles County. Both of their photos are being released hoping that someone may recognize them for their involvement and will come forward.
Anyone who may have any additional information regarding the unsolved murders should contact Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Mark McGuire and Hugo Cortes at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted via text or web by visiting www.tipsoft.com.
This information is preliminary and has not been completely verified. It is based in part on hearsay and is intended for early information use rather than being a formal investigative report.
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