Raceless Suspects Booked in MTV Music Coordinator Slaying

By David in TN

Gabriel Ben-Meir, 30, an MTV music coordinator, was killed by a shotgun blast around 1:30 am Sunday morning after parking his car outside his apartment. It was in the supposedly “safe” Wilshire area. On April 30, Marcelo Aregon, 35, was killed by a shotgun in the same area, when he resisted being robbed. In a third case, the shooter fired at a person who resisted being robbed, barely missing.

The same suspects are charged with the robberies of two donut stores and a liquor store, as well as of individuals walking home at night. The authorities say the crimes were unusual because a shotgun is “a rare weapon to use in a street crime,” and this type of crime didn’t promise big financial payoffs.

A 29-year old Los Angeles woman, Destiny Young, and two male accomplices, Jabaar Vincent Thomas, 26, and Richard Edward Anderson, 33, have been charged in the crime spree.

Young was charged with two counts of murder and six counts of second-degree robbery. Special circumstances of murder during a robbery and multiple murders were alleged.

Thomas was charged with three counts of second-degree robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a handgun. The complaint alleged that he was convicted of a similar crime on Feb. 5, 2010.

Anderson was charged with six counts of second-degree robbery.

The robbery charges carried allegations that the crimes were street gang-related and that a principal used a shotgun.

Police say they have not released photos of the three because those photos still need to be shown to witnesses to confirm identification of the suspects in the remaining robberies, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck told reporters. Beck declined to state who pulled the trigger in the two shotgun slayings.

Before the arrests, there were press descriptions of the suspects’ height, weight, and presumed age but nothing else.

The LAPD said they were able to link Thomas and Young to the Ben-Meir case from witness statements and other evidence. Thomas was booked on suspicion of killing Aregon earlier.

According to law enforcement, Thomas is a reputed gang member who was released from state prison in December after serving a sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Thomas has several felony convictions, including cocaine possession. Young did not appear to have a criminal history.

Thomas and Young are suspected of committing at least nine armed robberies in the last two weeks in the Mid-City, Wilshire, and Southwest Los Angeles areas. Police said Anderson has not been linked to Ben-Meir’s slaying.

Make what sense you can of this story.