Was Japanese Citizen Murdered in Inglewood?

INSIDE INGLEWOOD-On Sunday, November 9 at just before 4 a.m., a shooting homicide occurred in front of the Yoshinoya at 10025 Hawthorne Boulevard—just 1.3 miles south of city hall and the Inglewood Police Department (IPD) HQ.

An LA County Coroner spokesperson reached by telephone said that the victim, Shuichi Sugimoto, 40, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sugimoto is of Japanese descent and may be a Japanese citizen, according to the coroner’s spokesperson. The spokesperson also said that Sugimoto possessed a CA driver’s license. It is possible that the victim was a manager—or at least an employee—at the Yoshinoya. The restaurant’s Web site lists its Sunday hours as “8am - 3am.”

The next-of-kin were found after the coroner’s office worked with the Japanese embassy to locate family members who are out of the country. The Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles, reached by telephone, confirmed that they had located the next-of-kin on Monday but could offer no other information by press time.

According to an IPD spokesperson, the suspects were chased in a car from the scene after calls were made regarding the incident. According to the LA Daily News, the three suspects fled from the car chased by police along Imperial Highway near 115th Street as well as Simms Avenue.

Later in the day, IPD spokespeople implied there were only two suspects sought, and that there may be a third suspect. No descriptions were disclosed to neighbors or the media. No arrests were announced.

The on-foot suspects were sought by Inglewood police with K-9s, a SWAT team and an armored vehicle going door-to-door.

A CBS report quoted an Inglewood resident as saying, “‘I want to know what’s going on in my neighborhood. You’re not even telling us anything. You’re just saying I can’t go home. What’s going on?’”

The November 9 homicide is the 17th shooting death in Inglewood for 2014. In 2013, there were 17 shooting deaths in the nine consecutive months from April 4 until December.

For related stories:

 

● Homicide Rate Approaches Record  

● Unsolved Deaths in Inglewood 

● Unsolved Homicides in Inglewood

 

 

(Randall Fleming is a veteran journalist and magazine publisher. He has worked at and for the New York Post, the Brooklyn Spectator and the Los Feliz Ledger. He is currently editor-in-chief at the Morningside Park Chronicle, a weekly newspaper based in Inglewood, CA and on-line at www.MorningsideParkChronicle.com.  Mr. Fleming’s views are his own and do not reflect the views of CityWatch.) 

-cw

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 12 Issue 92

Pub: Nov 14, 2014

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