A modest amount of money was pledged Tuesday on behalf of a 24-year-old former pro skateboarder who was shot to death at a Pomona apartment building along with her 48-year-old neighbor, allegedly by her 48-year-old boyfriend.
Veronica Lopez and 48-year-old Richard Brady were found fatally shot in an apartment building hallway on Thursday, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office.
Both Lopez and Brady were pronounced dead at the scene on the building’s fourth floor.
Robert Galtman, 48, reportedly Lopez’s boyfriend, who is accused of killing the couple, led California Highway Patrol officers on a chase into the Newhall area Thursday evening after being spotted heading toward Sylmar.
Driving a black Kia sedan, Galtman was captured via aerial footage on the northbound Golden State (5) Freeway near Roxford Street. The pursuit traveled into Kern County for 1 1/2 hours from the Newhall and Antelope Valley areas.
Officers successfully deployed a spike strip and used a pursuit intervention technique, called a PIT maneuver, to stop the vehicle and Galtman was taken into custody around 7:10 p.m. Thursday.
Lopez’s family members told reporters they learned about the killings when they saw the chase on television, with Lopez’s sister saying she recognized Veronica’s car and dog.
“A double murder suspect was swiftly taken into custody today because of our partnership with Pomona Police Department, the quick thinking of our CHP Crime Suppression Team, our CHP airplane, the IRIS unit, and, ultimately, the collaboration between all of our patrol units on the ground in the pursuit, who were able to take the suspect into custody safely,” CHP Chief Chris Margaris said.
Galtman remains jailed at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles in lieu of $3.13 million bail, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department jail records, which indicated he was due in court Tuesday in Pomona.
According to a GoFundMe page that described Lopez as the youngest of five girls and called her killing a case of domestic violence, $8,715 had been raised as of Tuesday toward a goal of $15,000.
A separate GoFundMe page on behalf of the family of Brady, who was a father of two children, had raised $2,840 toward a $6,500 target.
Lopez’s family members described Brady as a friend of his younger neighbor.