Los Angeles: The driver of a stolen car was arrested for murder after he ran over and killed a woman last Thursday night.
On January 25, 2007, at about 8:15 P.M. a 60-year-old woman was crossing the street at the intersection of Saticoy Street and Nestle Avenue in Van Nuys, when she was struck by a gray Honda. The elderly woman suffered major injuries and despite life saving efforts, died at the scene. The driver of the Honda fled the scene. The victim's name is being withheld pending notification to her family.
Officers searched the area and located the unoccupied Honda in the area of Havenhurst Street and Saticoy Street. A survillance of the vehicle was conducted and a few minutes later a Hispanic man entered the vehicle and drove off. Officers detained the driver, later identified as Sergio Valle Arellano, 31, for a possible hit and run and murder investigation.
The investigation revealed Arellano and his friend, Oscar Lozada Alvarez, 24, had stolen a purse from a laundromat located at Sherman Way and Balboa Boulevard. They went through the purse and found a set of keys to a 2002 Honda CRV, which was in the parking lot.
Alvarez drove the Honda eastbound on Saticoy Street when he struck the elderly woman. Alvarez abandoned the car a few blocks away.
About 40 minutes later, officers detained Alvarez for riding a bicycle while DUI near Saticoy Street and Forbers Avenue. He still had property belonging to the victim of the stolen purse.
Alvarez was arrested for murder along with possession of methamphetamine, DUI, Theft of Property, and Grand Theft Auto (GTA). His bail was set at one million dollars. Arellano was arrested for GTA and DUI. His bail is $58,000. Both Alvarez and Arellano are residence of Van Nuys.
The deceased woman's name is being withheld pending notification to her family.
Anyone with information on this murder is asked to call Valley Traffic Division, Detective Huerta or Officer Martinez at 818-756-8381. On weekends or during off-hours, please call the 24-hour toll-free Detective Information Desk at 1-877-LAWFULL (1-877-529-3855).
It was gratifying to see that amid all the reports on this blog about how stressed the Department's footsoldiers are with paperwork, non-functioning equipment, and so on, the core policing skills remain deeply ingrained.
Instead of moving on to the next call or being too busy or overworked to care, one of you flatfoots looked for that car and found it. Then instead of turning it over to the OPG or to someone else for processing, somebody had the diligence and energy to stake it out. The hard work paid off, as it often does in investigations.
Stories like this should cause your Department to ask itself what it can do to free up its officers to do their jobs as they did here. Congratulations.
Posted by: Gabe | January 31, 2025 at 03:41 PM
"Stolen Car Driver Arrested for Murder!"
Interesting article. One bit of noteworthy info was left out!
Was the arrestee....or his passenger illegal aliens???
Probably not PC to say.......
Posted by: Jerry "Frog" LeFrois | January 31, 2025 at 08:46 PM
The officers involved in this deserve to have their names in the media for the good work that they did. Recognition for a job well done will encourage other officers to step up when they are able and everybody in this city will benefit
Posted by: Mike Jones | February 02, 2025 at 08:02 PM