A Normal Workday?
To show how cool he really is, last Saturday, the morning after the most devastating night of his life, Mr. Hernandez, a housepainter, got up as if it were just another day, went to his job and worked his full shift. Likely, it was Closing Day on this job, as he may have suspected at the time.
Whether his account of what happened a little before and a little after midnight last Friday frays upon tighter inspection will be a matter later for the attorneys.
Quirks abound in this story of blood, internal sweat and external tears in numbers greater than any army of fleas that ever dogged a dog.
Underpinning the Outcome
Here are several facts that do not appear to be in dispute:
For the last half-year, Mr. Hernandez, who has been described as a divorced father of one small child, and his girlfriend, Mireya Beltran, a 40-year-old single mom, have been live-in lovers at her place, in the 4100 block of Duquesne.
Enter Felix Ramirez of Hawthorne not hardly for the first time.
Spreading the Word
According to police accounts, Mr. Ramirez, of whom little, personally, is known, seems to have ignited the fire that has almost consumed him. He is the 27-year-old former boyfriend who seems to be of the dreaded kind. By several tellings, Mr. Ramirez is the type of ex-lover who never wants to go away, even, or especially, when a once-intense affair slows down to a dribble before tumbling over the cliff into permanently bleak oblivion.
After sending up numerous and blatant warning signals, it was reported, the former lover showed up in his old girlfriends territory last Friday night, upright and bulging with fury.
A bullet soon drastically dashed those conditions.
Life Threatening
Mr. Ramirez left Duquesne Avenue around 2 a.m. last Saturday, on his back, having been shot, once, in the back of his head. When he arrived at UCLA Medical Center not long after the shooting, an Emergency Room doctor judged he held a short leash on life. Still, he has survived, so far, for almost a week.
While Mr. Ramirez, representing the past, and Mr. Hernandez, representing the present but not necessarily the future, allegedly were dueling it out for future squatters rights, the party of the third part, Ms. Beltran, was in a separate world.
She was off partying, having left earlier in the evening to go dancing with one of her girlfriends.
Mr. Ramirez knew where to find his former girlfriend.
Ms. Beltran told police he may have been drunk when he confronted her at the Casa Escobar in the Marina. Before getting himself kicked out of the club, he warned her he wanted to see her present boyfriend, and he did not care who died in the process..
Taking a Closer Look
Here is the portrait Mr. Hernandez sketched of the evenings events for Culver City police:
He and Ms. Beltran were not speaking to each other. They had not for several days for the same reason that seems to have haunted their relationship: Jealousy.
They were in the process of jettisoning each other from their lives.
A Night Out
Mr. Hernandez got home around 9 oclock Friday evening, just as Ms. Beltran and her friend were preparing to go out dancing at the Casa Escobar. Half an hour later, he saw the two women climb into his girlfriends black Mercedes and drive off.
He was shmoozing with a woman of his acquaintance a few minutes later. Several different times, the home telephone rang. Through exasperation or curiosity, Mr. Hernandez finally picked up the receiver.
A Name from the Past
The caller identified himself as Felix. He said he was Ms. Beltrans former boyfriend, and then he segued into a stream of insults. Felix said he was going to come over and fight Mr. Hernandez. He said Mr. Hernandez would recognize him because he would enter through the rear door.
Considering himself forewarned, Mr. Hernandez dressed and started to make himself scarce, leaving through the front door.
Approaching his 4-year-old blue Ford Focus, Mr. Hernandez espied a man sprinting toward him. Scared and freshly motivated, Mr. Hernandez dove into his car as his pursuer yanked open the passenger-side door.
Time to Flee
Gunning the motor, Mr. Hernandez sped away to a West L.A. intersection, where he stopped the car and paused to reflect on the blurring events.
He decided to seek out a friend who lives on Menlo Avenue, not far from his ex-wife, in the neighborhood of USC.
It turns out although several claims in this story possess more than one version that Mr. Hernandez and, Dinorah, the mother of his child, are in the midst of a divorce. Feelings between the two fail to meet the threshold of friendly. The soon-to-be ex-Mrs. Hernandez told cops he was not allowed inside her home.
Holding His Possessions
Mr. Hernandez said when he reached the USC neighborhood, he went to the home of a friend who had been holding a chrome revolver for him. He admitted he had purchased 2 handguns in the spring for $250 while traveling through downtown Los Angeles. He did not catch the names of the fellows who sold him their firearms.
Mr. Hernandez said he wanted to arm himself just in case his alleged tormentor made a return visit to a certain location on Duquesne.
Ex-Boyfriend in Context
At this point, Mr. Hernandez acknowledged that Felix was not new to him. In fact, he originally had purchased the guns because his girlfriend told him Felix was threatening her.
Before leaving his (male) friends apartment, Mr. Hernandez also picked up a favorite red jacket he had left earlier for safekeeping.
Once outside, he headed for his car. On the way, he encountered 3 young men who were drinking on the sidewalk.
Getting Acquainted
They struck up a heavy conversation about what just had happened to Mr. Hernandez. Two of the strangers offered to accompany their new-found friend just in case the former boyfriend still was hanging out.
One of the instant friends stepped into the passenger seat and the other climbed in back. They headed for Culver City, but not alone. Mr. Hernandez said they brought an unspecified number of cans of beer with them.
Once back on Duquesne at Mr. Hernandez apartment, the men headed for the back of the building. In a surprise move, the 2 instant friends produced a bottle of vodka and resumed their drinking ways.
Strictly Softer Drinks
It is well known in Mr. Hernandez circle that he is a teetotaler. His girlfriend has admitted she tried to get him to drink, but he refused.
In the midst of the their libation, Felix made a return appearance, according to Mr. Hernandez, and renewed his challenge to fight it out.
Mr. Hernandez declined on the grounds that he would not fight over a woman.
Mr. Hernandez and his friends started to walk away, but Felix continued to try and convince his supposed rival to mix it up.
Setting the Location
The 3 men being chased moved with alacrity toward Mr. Hernandez car, which was facing south on Duquesne, on the west side of the street, just south of Farragut Avenue.
En route, one of the 2 new friends dashed across the street.
The friend who stayed on the same side of the street was called Oswaldo. (Last Tuesday night, police arrested Larry Oswaldo Menjibar, 27 years old, of Los Angeles, and also charged him with attempted murder.)
Momentum Changes
Mr. Hernandez said that Oswaldo was stepping fast ahead of him.
As he neared his unlocked car and started to open the door on the drivers side, he noticed when he looked up that Oswaldo had done something dramatic.
He had turned around and was walking toward their stalker. Oswaldo had his right arm behind his back, Mr. Hernandez said, cradling a shiny object in his hand.
Possibly unarmed, Felix held a cell phone in his hand.
How It Happened?
Mr. Hernandez said Oswaldo brought up the chrome revolver and shot at Felixs face from a distance of 18 to 24 inches. Felix fell to the ground, landing on his back.
Mr. Hernandez, Oswaldo and the unnamed second friend hurriedly, excitedly jumped into Mr. Hernandez hatchback.
Stopped by Police
Bound to be noticed, they whizzed away.
Driving south on Duquesne at a high rate of speed, without headlights, their suspicious comportment attracted the attention of Culver City police as the young men were creasing through the pristine darkness of nearby Irving Place.
(To be continued)
