A man suspected of beating a woman to death with a baseball bat in the Arlington Heights area and then holding police at bay for hours was charged Friday with murder.
Joshua Ramos, 35, was arrested Wednesday, nearly six hours after Los Angeles police found the victim suffering from a head injury in the 2300 block of Venice Boulevard.
The woman was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Her name had not been released as of Friday afternoon.
Police — who found an aluminum bat at the scene — went to the area on a report of an assault with a deadly weapon and subsequently determined the suspect was barricaded in his house in the area of West 20th Street and South Mariposa Avenue. Officers established a command post near the location and traffic was routed away from the area.
Nearby homes were evacuated and SWAT units were called to the scene as officers attempted to negotiate Ramos’ surrender. He was taken into custody at about 2 p.m. that day and has remained behind bars since then in lieu of $2 million bail, jail records show.