Parking Ticket Helps LAPD Make Quick Arrest in Overnight Shooting

Police investigating an overnight shooting in Sun Valley tracked down the juvenile suspect miles away in South Los Angeles, thanks in part to a parking ticket.

A young man was critically wounded in a shooting that took place around 2:05 a.m. in the driveway of a party on the 11200 block of Runnymeade Street in Sun Valley. The victim was shot in the abdomen and the bullet exited through his back, according to Sgt. Mike Kammert of the Los Angeles Police Department North Hollywood Division.

The LAPD arrested a juvenile in South Los Angeles around 5:30 a.m. after announcing it was seeking a brown or gold-colored GMC Yukon with tinted windows and 22-inch chrome wheels, which the shooter possibly fled in westbound on Elmer Street toward the border of North Hollywood two blocks away.

A parking officer, who had ticketed the suspect's vehicle earlier Saturday, recognized the description of the getaway vehicle and supplied police with the license number, Kammert said.

Police in southwest Los Angeles arrived at the suspect's home about the same time he did, Kammert said. The suspect ran but was caught after an extensive search that included police dogs, he said.

The suspect's name was being withheld because he is a juvenile, Kammert said.

LAPD officers at the scene were still piecing things together at 5 a.m. before the arrest was made, and police may still be seeking more individuals believed to be involved in the shooting.

"It was a party that was going on, and apparently there was some sort of argument that went on between the victim, who was shot, and the suspect," Sgt. Mark LaMont, who is in charge of the investigation, told Patch. "And apparently after the shooting, we're not sure if they knew one another. We're not even sure if these people at the party knew who these suspects were."

Paramedics took the victim to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, where he underwent surgery and was listed in critical condition, according to Kammert.

The City News Service contributed to this story.