Thursday, September 22, 2016

Mysterious Murder of a Camp Pendleton Marine

While bombs are alternately being detonated and defused in New York, and chaos reigns in North Carolina in the wake of the police shooting of Keith L. Scott (Note:  I recommend reading Tracy Twyman's autumnal equinox blog post regarding the hermetic symbolism exhibited in the media coverage of the July 2016 police shooting of Philando Castile), no one is paying attention to the mysterious murder of a Camp Pendleton marine that occurred only three days ago in Los Angeles.

Here are relevant excerpts from Matt Hamilton and Richard Winton's 9-19-16 Los Angeles Times article entitled "A Mystery for Police After 19-year-old Marine Is Shot in South L.A.:  'He's Fighting for His Life'":

"A 19-year-old Marine from Camp Pendleton has been hospitalized in grave condition after he was shot this weekend in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

"The teen, identified by his family as Carlos Segovia, was found about 11:35 p.m. Friday slumped over and unconscious in a Dodge Charger in the 2100 block of 31st Street, according to Capt. Peter Whittingham of the Los Angeles Police Department.

"Segovia left the military base near San Diego on Friday and was visiting friends and family for the weekend in South L.A., according to Claudia Perez, a family friend who said she treats him like her child.

"Segovia wrapped up visiting his girlfriend Friday and was about to drive to Perez’s home, where he usually stays, when he was struck by gunfire, she said.

"'He was on his way to my house,' Perez said via telephone from Segovia’s room at California Hospital Medical Center. 'He texted my son that he was bringing pizza home. He never made it.'

"Police notified the U.S. Marine Corps, which in turn notified Segovia’s family about the shooting. Whittingham said he is unlikely to survive and has little to no brain function [...].

"No suspect has been identified in the shooting. Police said Segovia has no connections to gangs or other activity that would seem to make him a likely target of gun violence.

"'At this point, it’s absolutely a mystery,' Whittingham said. 'Like so many cases in South L.A., we have nothing to go on at this point.'

"Born in El Salvador, Segovia came to the U.S. with his mother. Both are U.S. citizens, Perez said.
After finishing high school, Segovia joined the Marines about six months ago.

"He was known around his community for his volunteering and service work. Perez said he led a youth group called Teen Project, which aimed to motivate high school students to finish school and 'go the right way in life.' He also worked at LA on Cloud 9, a nonprofit run by Perez that she said provides services to homeless people and to animals [...].

"[Perez] pleaded with members of the public to come forward with information about the killing.

"'They shot a Marine. They shot a community leader,' Perez said. 'It was not gang-on-gang violence like you normally see on South L.A. streets. He left a base to see his family and was murdered in the streets.'"

To read Hamilton and Winton's entire article, click HERE

What follow are brief excerpts from a 9-21-16 update on the Segovia shooting from NBCLosAngeles.com:

"Lance Cpl. Carlos Segovia Lopez died at a hospital Monday night, according to the coroner's office. The Marine had been on life support since he was found Friday night slumped over in the driver's seat of his car in South Los Angeles.

"The Los Angeles Police Department announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.

"No suspects were identified, but now investigators think the motive may have been a result of Lopez witnessing potentially illegal activity."
  
Was the "potentially illegal activity" mentioned above witnessed in the streets of South L.A. or on the base at Camp Pendleton?  Which scenario is more likely?  Readers of Chameleo will know that the proper answer to that question is counter-intuitive....

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