LAPD Hollenbeck Detectives are investigating the homicide of a young man found dead from a gunshot wound Saturday just outside the Ramona Gardens housing development.
The victim was identified as 23-year-old Jonathan Valdovinos, a Ramona Gardens resident. Hollenbeck Detective Supervisor José Ramírez said Valdovinos was walking on the sidewalk near the Southwest corner of Murchison Street and Lancaster when he was approached by a gunman and shot once.
“He was shot in front of a laundromat” right across from the main entrance to the housing project, Ramirez said, adding the victim was declared dead on the scene. Detectives investigating the case cannot confirm an account on a Facebook post about the gunman approaching the victim from a car.
Ramirez said detectives believe the shooting was gang-related, although the victim was not identified as a member of a gang. Detectives have not identified a suspect and there is no one being held for the homicide.
The victim’s family set up a gofundme page which quickly surpassed the $10,000 donation goal towards the man’s funeral.
On the page, the man’s sister describes him as a “kind a pure-hearted soul.”
“My brother lived a humble life, he was an incredibly talented artist and rapper, he had such a bright future ahead of him,” she wrote. “It’s unfortunate that his life was taken at the young age of 23.”
A wake for the young man known to friends and family as “Novah” was to be held Thursday at a Boyle Heights funeral home and a Mass was to be offered Friday at Santa Teresita Church in Ramona Gardens, according to a Facebook post.
