Four men have been arrested in connection with the robbery and fatal shooting of a man in South Los Angeles over the summer, officials announced Wednesday.
Austin Belisle, 45, was shot and killed while being robbed of his jewelry on July 31. The occurred incident at 52nd and Ruthelen streets in the Vermont Square neighborhood of South L.A., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
An investigation led to the identity of four men, three of which were arrested on Oct. 7, Los Angeles Police Department Detective Nellie Knight said during a news conference Wednesday.
One of the suspects was arrested after a short pursuit, while another was already in custody for an unrelated matter.
James Dorsey, 20, Deshawn Grant, 21, and Davone Garrett, 22, were arrested in connection with the homicide, while Jamemal Baker, 24, was arrested on suspicion of theft of the victim’s property, officials said.
Two days after the arrests, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed murder and gang enhancement charges on the homicide suspects, and receiving stolen property and gang enhancement charges on the theft suspect, according to the LAPD.
Police did not elaborate on the shooting or what led to the suspects being arrested, except that they worked closely with Metropolitan Division personnel to identify the assailants.
Officials on Wednesday noted that homicides and shootings have increased across the city, specifically in the South L.A. area, compared to this time last year.
So far this year, there have been 261 homicides in Los Angeles. That’s a 25% increase from this time in 2019, said Capt. Ahmad Zarekani, commanding officer of the LAPD South Bureau’s homicide division.
Of those, 100 occurred within the South Bureau jurisdiction, the captain said, adding that homicide detectives are “working diligently” to solve those cases.
There has been an 18% uptick in shots fired calls and a total of 149 shooting incidents in the area handled by the South Bureau, said Capt. Leland Sands, commanding officer of LAPD’s Metropolitan Division. Additionally, he reported a 25% uptick in shooting victims, with a total of 91 victims.
Sands called on the public to help police decrease shooting violence in the city by reporting information.
“Law enforcement … is one part of the puzzle, the other part is the community,” he said. “We’re going to do our best as a department to stop this violence as best we can.”
