Wife in custody after Los Angeles-area mayor fatally shot

Associated Press

11 years ago

A police officer stands by the scene of a shooting in Bell Gardens, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. Authorities say Mayor Daniel Crespo, of the Los Angeles suburb of Bell Gardens, has been shot to death and his wife is in custody. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo (Screenshot/City of Bell Gardens)

Neighbors stand behind police lines as police officers block the scene of a shooting in Bell Gardens, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. Bell Gardens mayor Daniel Crespo was shot to death Tuesday during an argument with his wife, who was taken into custody, authorities said.(AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Unidentified relatives and friends of Bell Gardens mayor Daniel Crespo, grieve inside the city’s police station in Bell Gardens, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014. Authorities say the mayor of Bell Gardens died Tuesday after being shot in a domestic dispute, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials. His wife has been detained and remains in custody. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

BELL GARDENS, Calif. — The mayor of a Los Angeles suburb was shot to death Tuesday during an argument with his wife, who was taken into custody, authorities said.

Daniel Crespo, 45, was pronounced dead at a hospital, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Crystal Hernandez said.

Paramedics were called to a Bell Gardens condominium shortly after 2:30 p.m. Crespo and his wife, Levette Crespo, 43, had gotten into an argument, Hernandez said. Their son, Daniel Jr., 19, tried to intervene, and Crespo got into a struggle with him, she said.

Levette Crespo got a gun and shot her husband several times in the torso, and she was detained for questioning, Hernandez said.

Crespo and his wife were high school sweethearts who married in 1986. They met in New York, according to a biography on the city’s website.

Bell Gardens, a suburb of about 43,000, is located about 18 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Crespo was elected to the City Council in 2001. The council is a part-time job and members take turns serving as mayor.

The city’s website Tuesday night had an image of a black bow and a statement from Mayor Pro Tem Priscilla Flores and three councilmembers that said the shooting doesn’t appear to be related to Crespo’s mayoral activities.

“Our thoughts and prayers should be with Mayor Crespo’s family at this tragic time,” the statement said.

Crespo has been a county deputy probation officer for 15 years, according to the website. However, county CEO Bill Fujioka stated in a Twitter posting that Crespo had more than 21 years with the probation department.