An investigation was underway Wednesday after a man was found unresponsive in the trunk of a car in San Marino with apparent gunshot wounds and a person of interest was detained.
A San Marino Police Department officer stopped an older-model Ford sedan near the intersection of Los Robles Avenue and Monterey Road for a vehicle code violation at approximately 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is assisting San Marino police in the investigation.
The driver opened his door and began running east from the scene as the officer exited the patrol vehicle, authorities said. He remained outstanding on Wednesday, according to Lt. Daniel Vizcarra, the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau detective leading the investigation.
Investigators described the driver as a man last seen wearing dark- colored clothing, approximately 5-feet-6 inches tall with a dark complexion.
The officer detained a man sitting in the car’s front seat at the scene moments before discovering an unresponsive man in the trunk suffering from gunshot wounds, the Sheriff’s Information Bureau reported.
The passenger remained in sheriff’s department custody on Wednesday afternoon, Vizcarra said.
South Pasadena Fire Department personnel responded to the location and took the wounded man to a hospital, where he was listed in grave condition.
The sheriff’s department initially reported the man had died, but in a later update said his death was imminent, and the Los Angeles County medical examiner has already given the case a number.
Vizcarra said his status had not changed since Tuesday.
A search was conducted for the male who fled but he was not found, authorities said.
“Kudos to the officer who pulled that car over,” Vizcarra said.
The detective said he strongly doubts the shooting of the victim, who he described as “an older male adult,” occurred in the area where the car was pulled over.
He said he could not say for sure, but it appears the vehicle was passing through when the stop was made.
Anyone with information about the case was urged to call the LASD’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) or lacrimestoppers.org.
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