Authorities say two men have been arrested in connection with the death of a man fatally shot while trying to stop the theft of a catalytic converter in Inglewood.
A murder detective with the Inglewood Police Station arrested Wilbur Alberto Lavanares, 40, and Jose Christian Saravia Sanchez on Thursday evening after running a search warrant at a motel in Kudahi, authorities said. Sanchez’s age has not been released.
Police said both suspects had been booked at Inglewood Prison. Lavanales is in custody on $2 million bail and is scheduled for court Monday, according to the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s inmate log. Sanchez’s bail and appearance information could not be established immediately on Friday night.
Juan “Johnny” Sanchez, 48, was shot in the 1000 block of North Chester Avenue in Inglewood around 3:22am on February 25th.
Police have launched a search for the suspect. The suspect was captured on surveillance cameras fleeing on a gold Toyota Camry with colored windows and sunroofs. The department later said the community provided important help in identifying the two suspects.
Juan Sanchez’s family described him as “a dedicated husband, a loving father, a proud grandfather, and a precious friend of so many people” in the GoFundMe campaign, which raised over $44,500 as of Friday.
“He was the kind of person who always put others in front of him and offered a hand of help, an ear listening to his ears, or a smile that could brighten up even on the darkest days,” Post said. “His strength, wisdom and generosity are the foundation of his family, leaving a blank that will never be satisfied.”
Thieves target emission control devices for high value metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, which is an increasing problem in Southern California with catalytic converter theft.
Theft can be difficult to interfere as it only takes a few minutes to steal your device. And once you’ve taken the photo, the device is almost impossible to track a particular car.
To combat the issue, the police department has launched a host of free events where drivers can get a unique identification number etched into the converter. In 2023, the Los Angeles City Council voted to make it illegal to own an inappropriate catalytic converter without proof of ownership.
Data released last year by Los Angeles Police found that 2,113 catalytic converters were stolen in Los Angeles until early 2024. The figures do not include Englewood or unconsolidated portions of Los Angeles County.
In one infamous incident, “General Hospital” actor Johnny Wactor was fatally shot in downtown Los Angeles last May, approaching several men trying to remove a catalytic converter from his car, police said. Three months later, prosecutors charged four men in connection with the crime.
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