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Suspect in 3 L.A. area shootings charged with capital murder

Sgt. Frank Preciado of the LOs Angeles Police Department describes shootings which took place early Sunday morning, Aug. 24, 2014, in the San Fernando Valley which left 3 people dead. Describing what they called a major public threat, Los Angeles police said they are seeking clues to three separate shootings in the Northeast San Fernando Valley that left three people dead and four others injured early Sunday morning and appear to be connected. A suspect in the shootings was taken into custody by SWAT officers Sunday night after holing up inside a house in the Sylmar neighborhood for about an hour, Capt. William Hayes said. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Daily News,David Crane)
Los Angeles Police Department officers investigate the scene of a shooting Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014, where one person was killed near the 14400 block of Polk Street in Sylmar, Calif. Describing what they called a major public threat, Los Angeles police said they are seeking clues to three separate shootings in the Northeast San Fernando Valley that left three people dead and four others injured early Sunday morning and appear to be connected. A suspect in the shootings was taken into custody by SWAT officers Sunday night after holing up inside a house in the Sylmar neighborhood for about an hour, Capt. William Hayes said. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Daily News, Dean Musgrove)
Los Angeles Police Department officers investigate the scene of a shooting Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014, where one person was killed near the 14400 block of Polk Street in Sylmar, Calif. Describing what they called a major public threat, Los Angeles police said they are seeking clues to three separate shootings in the Northeast San Fernando Valley that left three people dead and four others injured early Sunday morning and appear to be connected. A suspect in the shootings was taken into custody by SWAT officers Sunday night after holing up inside a house in the Sylmar neighborhood for about an hour, Capt. William Hayes said. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Daily News, Dean Musgrove)
Los Angeles Police Department officers investigate the scene of a shooting Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014, where one person was killed near the 14400 block of Polk Street in Sylmar, Calif. Describing what they called a major public threat, Los Angeles police said they are seeking clues to three separate shootings in the Northeast San Fernando Valley that left three people dead and four others injured early Sunday morning and appear to be connected. A suspect in the shootings was taken into custody by SWAT officers Sunday night after holing up inside a house in the Sylmar neighborhood for about an hour, Capt. William Hayes said. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Daily News, Dean Musgrove)
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By TAMI ABDOLLAH ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 26, 2014 - 4:29 pm
 

LOS ANGELES — Prosecutors on Tuesday charged a suspect in three Los Angeles-area weekend killings with murder in an earlier shooting.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said 34-year-old Alexander Hernandez of Sylmar was charged with capital murder for killing 48-year-old Gildardo Morales as he drove his pickup truck to work on Aug. 21 in Pacoima.

Hernandez was also charged with attempted murder and animal cruelty in other random shootings over the past five days, authorities said.

On Aug. 22, police say Hernandez fired at a couple in their vehicle in West Hollywood. They weren’t injured. The following day he drove by a Pacoima house and shot three dogs, killing two, authorities said.

Then on Sunday, police say, he killed three people within an hour. He has not been charged in those deaths.

Hernandez was charged with one count of murder with a special circumstance of shooting at an occupied vehicle, two counts of attempted murder, three counts of animal cruelty, two counts of discharge of a firearm with gross negligence and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of ammunition.

The district attorney’s office said Hernandez has four prior convictions, including possession for sale of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance with a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Hernandez is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday and remains held on $1 million bail. The charges carry a potential death penalty, and prosecutors will ask that he be held without bail.

Prosecutors called the shootings random and police said there was no indication of a link among the victims. Police believe Hernandez worked alone and is the sole suspect in Sunday’s shootings.

Detectives for the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department are continuing to investigate.

Hernandez is also being looked at as a potential suspect in several other unsolved cases that may have also involved a tan- or gold-colored SUV and the use of a shotgun.

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Tami Abdollah can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/latams

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