Gang Bloodshed Continues in New Rash of Shootings

In an overnight spate of unrelated street violence, a 7-month-old boy, his 20-year-old father, a pregnant teen-ager, a 16-year-old boy, a young Pomona man and a schoolgirl from Highland Park all fell victims to gunfire on Los Angeles County streets, authorities said Friday.

Gangs were said to be responsible for all of the attacks. There were no arrests.

Three of the victims died. They were Jesus Gonzales, 18, gunned down as he sat with David John Godinez Sr. and Godinez’s infant son, David John Jr., on a wall in their Pomona neighborhood; the pregnant girl, Camille Pena, 16, shot on a sidewalk in the Florence area, and 16-year-old Frank Langston, slain as he was using a pay phone near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

While there have been bloodier nights in greater Los Angeles--weekends have become notorious for double-digit body counts--the shootings Thursday night and early Friday seemed to claim an extraordinarily young collection of victims. Also, they added significantly to what already has been a dramatic increase in gang-related violence over the last year.

The Sheriff’s Department said there were 1,302 gang-related violent felonies countywide, ranging from homicides to drive-by shootings, between Jan. 1 and March 31. That compares to 1,099 such crimes in the same period last year--an 18% increase. Similarly, the department reported 35 gang-related murders in the first quarter of this year, 10 more than during the same period a year ago.

Sheriff’s officials attributed the increase to a general surge in gang activity, especially in Latino communities. Some authorities also suggested that gang members, unable to find jobs, may be remaining active longer than in past years. More gang members means more gang violence. Tactics, too, have changed, leading to more innocent victims.

“In the old days, gangs used to fight one-on-one,� said Sheriff’s Sgt. Joe Guzman, supervisor of gang investigators at the department’s East Los Angeles station. “Now, it’s all about weapons, guns, cars and quick getaways.�

This is common knowledge on certain streets in Los Angeles and its surrounding cities. One witness to the death of the pregnant girl--a 27-year-old man who identified himself only as “Easy Money�--was unfazed by the gang violence, which he said is common in the unincorporated community of Florence.

“They came and they shot and they left,� he said. “They were after anyone they could get. It didn’t matter who.

“Summertime’s coming,� the man said. “It gets like that here in the summer. . . . It’s just one of those things.�

The first of the attacks occurred about 4:20 p.m. Thursday, as Gonzales and Godinez were lounging with friends and relatives in front of a low wall near the corner of Newman and Monterey streets in Pomona. Godinez was holding his infant son.

The area--called “Cherryville� by the locals--is known to police for the frequency of gang attacks and both Gonzales and Godinez were gang members, according to Pomona Police Detective Sgt. Ron Windell.

A 20-year-old woman named Renee--who identified herself as Gonzales’ girlfriend but, like other witnesses to the overnight shootings, declined to give her full name--said she and her friends were “just sitting there when these two guys, they were about 17, got out of the car and started shooting. We all hit the pavement, ‘cause we had nowhere to run. . . .

“They shot my boyfriend and my cousin’s baby and the baby’s father,� Renee said. “They didn’t say anything. They just got back in the car and drove off.�

Detective Windell said that Gonzales lay where he had fallen, mortally wounded. Godinez, hit twice but conscious, still held his infant son as they huddled together on the sidewalk.

The infant, shot through the chest, was in critical condition Friday at Loma Linda University Medical Center in the San Bernardino County community of Loma Linda. His father was undergoing treatment for gunshot wounds in the arm and foot at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

“Two things helped save that baby’s life,� Windell said. “For one thing, the bullet that hit him was apparently the one that went through his father’s arm, and that dissipated some of the energy. For another, there were two detectives half a block away who heard the shooting, and they rushed the child to the hospital.�

On Friday, police arrested a 17-year-old youth at Park West High School in Pomona and booked him on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in the Gonzales-Godinez shootings.

Sgt. Gary Graham said the youth, whose name was withheld, was identified by witnesses as the one who fired the shots. The driver of the car was still being sought late Friday.

About the same time, a 16-year-old schoolgirl was shot as she, her brother and her boyfriend--both identified as gang members--strolled down a residential street in Highland Park when they were confronted by members of another gang.

Witnesses said taunts were exchanged and one of the youths who confronted the three suddenly produced a gun and opened fire. The boy who fired the shot fled on foot.

Police Lt. Dave Waterman said the girl’s brother and friend apparently were the intended victims, but she was the only one who was hit. The suspect was not immediately identified, officers said.

The girl, who was not identified, was reported is stable condition at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena with a chest wound.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said the attack in Florence occurred about four hours later, as a group of young people gathered in front of a home in the 1200 block of East 87th Street.

“I was just standing here talking, and that girl (Camille Pena) was standing over there in the driveway,� said a 25-year-old witness, who identified himself only as “Big Shon.� “We saw the guys down the street a way, sitting in a car. . . .

“I turned around and all of a sudden they were standing right there with their guns--a shotgun, a .357 (caliber pistol) and a rifle,� Big Shon said. “They didn’t say nothing. They just started emptying their guns.�

The witness said that as he ran for cover, the Pena girl slumped to the pavement and the assailants dashed for their car and drove off. Moments later, Big Shon said, he returned and attempted to revive the wounded girl.

“She never said anything,� Big Shon recalled. “She breathed for a while, but then that stopped. I tried CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), but it was too late.�

The fetus could not be saved.

Deputy Patrick Hunter, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department, said that while the motive for the attack had not been determined, investigators are convinced it was gang-related.

Shortly after midnight, 16-year-old Frank Langston was slain by one of several shots fired from a passing car as he stood on a sidewalk near the Coliseum.

Times staff writer Louis Sahagun contributed to this report.