MONROVIA (CNS) - Authorities on Tuesday announced the arrest of the alleged gunman and reputed gang member wanted in a gang-related shooting at a Monrovia bar that left one man dead and two others wounded.
Jeremiah LaCroix, 31, turned himself in to authorities at the Larry Smith Detention Center in Banning at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday and was later booked on a murder warrant at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Norwalk Station, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Charles Moore.
LaCroix was wanted in the shooting death of 43-year-old Michael Lowe of Monrovia, who was gunned down just after midnight Dec. 2, 2017 at Gem City Grill in the 100 block of East Olive Avenue.
LaCroix, whom authorities said is known by the moniker ``Ciego,'' allegedly pulled out a gun and shot into the crowd after he and his older brother, 34-year-old William LaCroix Jr., engaged in a verbal confrontation that escalated into a fight with several gang members inside the bar, according to sheriff's investigators.
Two rival gang members and an innocent patron not involved in the confrontation were struck by gunfire inside the bar, where about 30 to 40 people were gathered, according to the sheriff's department, which obtained video surveillance footage allegedly showing the suspects entering the business.
Lowe died after being taken to a hospital.
William LaCroix Jr., and 33-year-old Erika Torres, both of Monrovia, were also arrested in Lowe's slaying. The pair was apprehended by Monrovia police as they allegedly fled from the restaurant and bar after the shooting, according to sheriff's Lt. Derrick Alfred.
The two are charged with one count each of murder in Lowe's death, along with four counts each of attempted murder and two counts each of resisting an executive officer, said Greg Risling of the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. The charges include gang allegations.
The LaCroix brothers' parents, who live in Commerce, are accused of helping their younger son avoid arrest after the shooting.
William LaCroix Sr., 57, is charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact. Ana Guerrero, 53, is charged with two counts of being an accessory after the fact.
``Her level of involvement was a little greater than the father's,'' Alfred said of Guerrero.
All four defendants have pleaded not guilty and remain jailed while awaiting their next appearance in a Pasadena courtroom Jan. 16, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require them to stand trial.
Sheriff's Sgt. Richard Biddle said he believed it was ``happenstance'' that members of two rival gangs just happened to wind up in the same location.
Also being sought are Jacob Webb -- a 29-year-old Hispanic man who goes by the moniker ``King Khash'' accused of assisting Jeremiah LaCroix avoid apprehension after the shooting -- and the alleged getaway driver, a male Hispanic with the possible name ``Alfonso'' who drives a white Toyota Camry or a similar type of vehicle, according to the sheriff's department.
``This needs to be known that if these acts continue and more (members) of the public come out and continue to aid him, that they face the same consequences that his parents and Jacob Webb are going to face,'' Alfred said.
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