An 83-year-old Black man and Korean War veteran was arrested after he tried to protect a woman involved in an apparent road rage incident in the parking lot of an Amazon Fresh in Los Angeles on May 30.
The trouble began when a 31-year-old man driving a white pickup truck erratically drove into the Amazon Fresh parking lot on the 6800 block of La Cienega Boulevard at approximately 4 p.m., according to witnesses.
One witness, Daymon Moses, said the man was “screeching his tires and screeched to a stop.”
Moses said that an older woman, who is reportedly a neighbor of the 83-year-old man, later identified as Richard Strickland, then pulled into the parking lot driving a black Lexus, and the 31-year-old man, later identified as YanCarlos Santiago, began yelling at her.
“I don’t know. I’m assuming it’s some road rage type thing,” said Moses. “I was like, ‘Just get back in your car. Why are you getting out of your car?’ She was like, ‘I live right here.'”
The veteran reportedly came outside in his robe and slippers armed with a gun to protect the woman from Santiago, who then began yelling at him, according to LAPD Capt. Kelly Muniz, Strickland shot Santiago during a dispute involving the female acquaintance.
One witness, Tracey Knox, told Fox 11 News that Strickland warned Santiago he had a gun, but Santiago took off his shirt like he was planning to fight the 83-year-old man and called him racial slurs.
“The older man pulled out the gun,” said Knox. “He pulled it out twice; first time he pulled it out like a warning and then as he was going to put it away he turned his back, the Latino gentleman took off his shirt like he was going to fight and started spewing derogatory statements at him and at that point the Black gentleman turned around and shot him.”
Knox told KTLA that Santiago had been very aggressive prior to the shooting.
“The young guy that got shot was being very aggressive,” said Knox. “He was saying derogatory things to the African-American gentleman, and I believe that there was some words that were said and he turned around and shot him.”
Knox also told ABC7 News that Santiago yelled, “I’m from South Central, n—!”
“And that old man just turned around, bam. One shot,” Knox recalled. “Impeccable. One shot.”
“He was very threatening,” another witness said of Santiago. “And I was concerned for the lady’s safety because I heard the disruption in my apartment and that’s obviously what he heard, that brought him outside. … The gentleman that lost his life was very emotional. Racial, epithet-laden outburst, escalating his attitude.”
The witness went on the say that the residents in the neighborhood are constantly subjected to transients hanging out in the parking lot. Santiago was declared dead at the scene, and the war veteran was taken into custody. According to NBC4 News, the shooter had recently begun a relationship with the woman arguing with Santiago. Strickland is being held in jail in lieu of $3 million bail, according to reports.
