The Los Angeles Police Department’s 77th Street Homicide Division has named 31-year-old Eric Atkinson as the suspect in the robbery and murder of discount store clerk Martha Sanchez, according to a press release issued by Ninth District Councilman Curren Price’s office.
Sanchez was working as a store clerk at a local Happy Bargain 99 Cents Store on the 7400 block of South Broadway around at 8:50 p.m. on Sept.17 when the robbery and shooting happened. [Read more…]
District Square | Photo Credit: KGTY
A new 300,000 square-foot retail center is set to hit the Crenshaw District and will replace businesses that have been in the community for decades.
The project, titled District Square, is set to replace a Rite Aid, Ralph’s and Cleaners, which have been community staples for over a decade. The two-story center will bring a host of new retailers to the Crenshaw District, which spans over five miles of South Los Angeles. It is expected to include a Target, Ross, Marshall’s and leasing space for other vendors and retailers.
The project manager for engineering company KGTY couldn’t comment on the project’s timeline or budget, but the website confirms that its client, The Charles Company, has designed the location to include both upper and lower level parking with access to retail stores on all levels. Although a deadline for the project’s completion is unknown, community members and leaders have expressed excitement about a brand-new center coming to the dilapidated neighborhood. [Read more…]
Photo Credit: Sinduja Rangarajan
Brenda Ramirez and her husband had finished work and were driving home when they saw police and a crowd gathered around a South Los Angeles discount store a block away from their upholstery shop.
Enrique Espino, a high school student, was sitting on his couch watching TV when he heard his neighbors run out of their homes. Eva Alvarez, who was working in her bail bond store, saw an ambulance on her store’s surveillance camera and sprinted towards the shop across the street.
Their neighbor, Martha Sanchez, had been shot. [Read more…]
November 6th marked the 100th anniversary of Exposition Park (originally Agricultural Park) | Courtesy of the Los Angeles Public Library
A roundup of news stories about South L.A.:
Foundation pledges $5 million for Watts social/ educational programs (LA Times)
Council members push to end street vending ban (LA Times)
New Chicago Cubs manager hails from South Gate, Ca (LA Wave)
Man in custody after standoff in South L.A market (KTLA)
Chef Jeff’s new book is available online and in stores. He will be autographing books at Eso Won.
Author and chef Jeff Henderson will appear at Eso Won Books on Monday at 7 p.m. to sign copies of his newest book, “If You Can See It, You Can Be It: 12 Street-Smart Recipes for Success.”
Henderson’s path to success has been unconventional — before becoming “Chef Jeff,” he went to prison for dealing drugs. Now, the chef says he hopes his story will motivate others. We spoke with Henderson about his South Central L.A. upbringing, the new book, and his drive to inspire the young people who struggle like he once did.
A Samsung Craigslist listing turns deadly | Photo Credit: Creative Commons
Sandra Balbuena was doing homework at her school in Irvine when she got the phone call.
She could tell right away by her aunt’s tone that something was wrong.
“Where’s my dad? Where’s my dad?” Sandra asked repeatedly.
“Mija, you need to calm down,” said Sandra’s aunt, Ana Guerrero, over the phone. “Your daddy was shot.”
At a police press conference on Oct. 28 announcing the arrest of two suspects, Sandra Balbuena, a 19-year-old UC Irvine student, described the painful moment when she learned that her father and brother had been shot.
Markell Thomas, 18, and Ryan Roth, 17, have been charged with murder, attempted murder, robbery and gang affiliations, according to LAPD.
On Oct. 19, Sandra’s father and brother responded to a Craigslist advertisement for a $300 Samsung Galaxy cellphone in the 9200 block of South Gramercy Place in South Los Angeles, said police.
They had no idea it was a trap.
Rene Balbuena, 41, and his 15-year-old son, Steven, texted the men who had posted the Craigslist ad and sat waiting in their car around 7:30 p.m. that Saturday, said Detective Chris Barling at the press conference Monday.
Thomas and Roth approached the car and demanded their property, according to police. Thomas allegedly entered the rear passenger door and pointed his gun at the 15-year-old boy.
Balbuena proceeded to exit the vehicle and was fatally shot three times in his torso by Roth, said police. His son suffered a bullet graze wound.
Sandra said she was the first family member to show up at the hospital after the attack. When she saw her brother in a neck-brace underneath blood-soaked sheets, she realized things were much worse than she had anticipated.
“Steven was worried,” Sandra said, recalling those first moments at the hospital. “He’s like, ‘I’m okay, I’m okay. I didn’t even notice I got shot, but I’m really worried about dad.’”
She choked up then, recounting the difficult experience of breaking the news to her little brother.
Their father was dead.
Thomas is believed to have been involved with at least seven other robberies between Aug. 2 and Oct. 7 involving similar Craigslist postings about a Samsung phone throughout the Baldwin Hills area, according to Barling. Both suspects are being charged as adults.
Family members have been streaming in and out of Balbuena’s South Gate home since the murder took place.
Neighbors of the close-knit community all expressed sadness about what happened and said that Balbuena was a good father.
“He was responsible,” said Juan Martinez, Balbuena’s next-door neighbor. “He was always working and always taking care of his kids.”
Although the arrests brought some consolation to Balbuena’s family, the Balbuenas made clear that legal action wouldn’t lessen the pain of their loss.
“My dad was my best friend,” said Sandra. “He was everything to me and nothing’s going to bring him back.”
This story was originally published on Neon Tommy. Follow Guest Contributor Anna Sterling on Twitter.
Hollywood Park Casino & Racetrack has been apart of the Inglewood community for over 75 years.
A roundup of news stories about South L.A.:
LAX back to normal after Friday’s shooting (LA Wave)
Betfair Hollywood Park Race Track begins its final meeting (Daily Racing Form)
South L.A welcomes new retail center (Neon Tommy)
Curren Price and the “new 9th” (Neon Tommy)
Memorial for Emily Mason Ware. November 5, 2013. Photo credit: Karen Lin
A memorial service was held Tuesday for Emily Mason Ware at Grant AME Church. Ware was the second African-American woman deputy sheriff in Los Angeles County. After she retired, she got her degree in education and entered the teaching profession. Ware was 97.
When Ware was teaching at Jordan High School in Watts, she helped set up Project Jordan to help high school graduates who cannot afford to go to college. Wini Jackson worked with Ware for decades, and said Project Jordan offers more than financial assistance to recipients. [Read more…]
Ratio of citations per black student to citations per white student for the most recent three school years
Students, parents and teachers rallied at Martin Luther King Blvd. and Vermont Ave. near Manual Arts High School last week to discuss over-policing in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Today, the newly-formed LAUSD Progressive Discipline and Safety Committee will hold a public meeting from 4 to 6 p.m. to continue the conversation.
On the corner of Adams Boulevard and Gramercy Place sits a three-story, red brick Colonial Revival style building. Its six, strong, white columns and perfectly manicured lawn separate it from many of the other apartment buildings surrounding the area.
To an unknowing passer-by, the building may not seem to belong in the neighborhood. However, most residents know it as a historical and cultural monument and the current workplace of the LA84 Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds youth sports programs in Southern California as the legacy of the 1984 Olympic Games. [Read more…]
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