Two more men were in custody Thursday in connection with the fatal gang-related shooting of a 27-year-old man at a park in Palms last week, police said.
Antwaun Morrison, 37, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder in connection with the killing last Thursday of Justin Aguilar at Woodbine Park, police announced.
“A third suspect remains in the hospital as a result of gunshot wounds sustained during the shooting or Mr. Aguilar,” according to a Los Angeles Police Department statement. “A judge has issued an arrest warrant for the third suspect.”
The first person arrested in the case, 37-year-old James Pickens of Inglewood, was arrested Friday night and charged Wednesday with murder, including gang and gun allegations, in connection with Aguilar’s killing.
Pickens remains jailed without bail after pleading not guilty and is due back in court Tuesday, when a date will be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence for him to stand trial.
It’s unclear exactly how the third suspect was shot, but it occurred during a series of shootings in the residential Palms neighborhood, according to the LAPD.
Morrison was being held at the Inmate Reception Center in downtown Los Angeles in lieu of $2.04 million bail, according to sheriff’s online jail records.
The motive for the shootings was not disclosed by police. They began just before 3 last Thursday afternoon, when two men were shot at Woodbine Park, at Woodbine Street and Vinton Avenue. Aguilar was pronounced dead at the scene.
Moments after that shooting, another man was shot and critically wounded at the intersection of Motor and Vinton avenues, then two other men were shot at the intersection of Overland Avenue and National Boulevard.
Two of the three non-critically injured victims were released after hospital treatment, police said.
Police went on tactical alert for about 3 1/2 hours last Thursday, which allowed the LAPD to keep officers on the job beyond the end of their shifts, and Palms Middle School and Palms Elementary School were placed on temporary lockdown.
The Palms Neighborhood Watch group met at Woodbine Park today to discuss the recent spate of violence in the community, which also included a fatal shooting Wednesday. It is not clear if there is a connection between the killings Wednesday and last Thursday.
— City News Service