Sheriff’s officials and the father of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Altadena during an attempted burglary nearly three years ago appealed to the public Thursday for help bringing whoever is responsible for the homicide to justice.
Daniel Ursitti, who had advertised online that he had psychedelic mushrooms for sale, was shot at his home in the 700 block of West Owen Court about 2:35 a.m. March 22, 2023, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies from the Altadena Sheriff’s Station found Ursitti wounded after responding to a reported burglary in progress and a man who had been shot.
Ursitti was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The loss of Daniel Ursitti was compounded when the family’s home was subsequently destroyed in January’s deadly Eaton Fire.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide detectives, who have been investigating the case since the killing but have not been able to make any arrests, held a news conference Thursday morning at their Monterey Park headquarters to renew calls for information that could lead to the four suspects whose images were captured on a nearby home’s security video.
Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau detective Lt. Mike Gomez said Ursitti and his girlfriend were asleep in his bedroom and awoke to find four men standing over them.
One made demands of Ursitti to “show him the stuff” and threatened to shoot him, Gomez said.
“Before Daniel could react the male suspect shot at him as he lay in bed,” the detective recounted.
The four suspects fled in a vehicle described as a white, second-generation 2015-2020 Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck. Investigators were unable to discover its license plate number.
Gomez displayed an image of a suspect, wearing a gray or light-colored hoodie similar to the one worn by one of the suspects, from the security video of a nearby home. Also displayed was video showing all four suspects prior to the shooting.
The victim’s father, Richard Ursitti, said he and his loved ones think daily about the “tragic, senseless murder (that) has been devastating for our family” while at the same time coping with the loss of their home and efforts to rebuild.
“We ask for your help,” he said. “If you know anything at all, we ask that you please come forward and help bring justice to this tragic loss that we’ve been dealing with.”
Gomez said another family member and two friends were present in the home when Ursitti was shot and that a door left open on the lower level may have allowed the suspects to gain access.
He said investigators discovered Ursitti had a social media website advertising psylocybin mushrooms for sale and the fungi and money were likely what motivated the burglary attempt.
The suspects may also have had some previous association with the victim, Gomez said.
“The pain this family is carrying is unimaginable,” he said. “Our hearts remain with them as we seek answers and justice.”
Anyone with information about the shooting was urged to call the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.