KTLA

‘Senseless violence’: 7 men indicted in string of fatal shootings in L.A. County

Seven men have been charged in connection with a string of fatal shootings that occurred in Los Angeles, Compton and Inglewood in late 2021 and early 2022, officials announced Tuesday.

The charges stemmed from a 37-count grand jury indictment that was unsealed on Monday and involved four separate incidents in which seven victims lost their lives to “senseless violence,” according to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office.

Authorities called the investigations into the shootings “complex,” and the men were described as gang members.

Seven men charged in a string of shootings in Los Angeles County are seen in images released by the DA’s Office on Aug. 8, 2023. (KTLA)

The first in the series of shootings occurred at an RV park in South Los Angeles on Dec. 6, 2021.

Two victims, Jose Palma and Hector Cervantes, were killed when shots were fired into an RV.

Six of the seven defendants were charged in the case: Kendale Taylor, Cory Ervin, Kalil Santos, Kevin Salter, Terrance Adams and Marvin Linnear.

The next day, three people were shot and wounded at a gas station in the 100 block of East El Segundo Boulevard.

Five defendants were charged in connection with that incident: Ervin, Santos, Salter, Adams and Linnear, officials said.

A shooting on Dec. 14 near Compton left one dead, Antonio Dotson, and one injured. Four defendants were charged in that case: Ervin, Santos, Linnear and Semaj Brown.

The highest profile case involved in the indictment was a quadruple homicide that occurred in Inglewood on Jan. 23, 2022.

Breahna Stines, who was celebrating her 20th birthday, her sister, Marneysha Hamilton, Teron Whittiker and Jayden Griffen, were all killed in the shooting.

Inglewood Mayor James Butts at the time called the shooting an “ambush” and a “monstrous, vicious crime.”

Photos of victims killed in the Inglewood shooting are displayed on Jan. 24, 2021. (KTLA)

Three defendants, Taylor, Ervin and Santos, were charged in the case.

Tiffaney Steins, the mother of the two sisters, said that while it took more than a year for the indictment to come down, she is “elated” that the men allegedly responsible for her daughters’ deaths are behind bars.

“I respect the process. I didn’t necessarily expect it to happen overnight, but my faith in God, I knew this day was going to come,” she said.

“This level of violence shocks the conscience and is completely unacceptable,” DA George Gascón said during a news conference Tuesday announcing the charges.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore said the shootings started with threats on social media that turned violent.

“It began over a simple riff, or a disagreement,” Moore said. “Street culture at times allows such disagreements to escalate to senseless killing.”

“The taking of seven lives in such a short period of time, lives that had futures, and while none of them, or us, is perfect, none of them deserved this type of outcome,” the chief added.

Here is a breakdown of the charges each defendant faces:

Six of the seven defendants have prior arrests and convictions. They are due in court on Sept. 7.