Suspect arrested in random killing of Filipino in LA
Julius Rondez, 70, was killed in a seemingly random assault. His suspected killer, Gerson Carillo Torres, has been arrested.
LOS ANGELES — A suspect has been arrested in the seemingly random killing of Julius Rondez, a 70-year-old Filipino employee of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power worker, police said Friday.
Gerson Carrillo Torres, 22, was arrested Thursday following the July 2 assault on Rondez. Torres was detained near Third and Wall streets days after Rondez was killed.
The suspected attacker had been walking in the opposite direction of Rondez in downtown LA just after 4:30 p.m. when he turned around and “hooked his right arm around the victim’s neck” and struck him, LAPD officials said.
He knocked Rondez to the ground. Rondez’s head hit the pavement, according to police. He was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition, where he died of he died of blunt head trauma a day later.
A 33-year veteran of LADWP, Rondez, an immigrant from the Philippines had refused to retire from the agency because he was “still strong” and able to keep working, his daughter, Janice Rondez, told KTLA.
She said regularly took the Gold Line train to work from his home in Highland Park. Rondez was set to go on vacation the day he was brutally assaulted, his daughter said.
“My father didn’t deserve this. I don’t think anyone does,” she told KTLA.
Officials said Torres was booked on suspicion of murder and is being held on $2 million bail.
Anyone with information is urged to contact LAPD detectives at 213-833-3750. During non-business hours or on weekends, police can be reached at 877-527-3247.
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