Two men and a woman have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in front of a Glendale apartment after the victim apparently insulted the woman. The police suspected that the woman had planned the attack. The victim was identified as Phillip Niles Jr., 25 years old, of Daytona Beach, who had just moved to Los Angeles.
Glendale police said Niles and his friends were out on Friday night when they returned to an apartment in the 1700 block of North Verdugo Road and joined two women that night. Niles walked with the two women outside just before 4 AM. and he was confronted by two men who knew one of the the women.
The victim was then shot multiple times from a short distance before collapsing on the front lawn of a home in the 1600 block of The Midway Street, police said.
The men and women then drove away from the scene in the same vehicle. Investigators spent several hours searching for leads and went door-to-door in the neighborhood.
Glendale Police Sgt. Robert William told “They went from not knowing the victim, to a complete ‘whodunit’ case, to seriously putting some good work into it,” The men, identified as Laquan Parker, 24 years old, of Suisun City, Calif, and Brandon Perkins, 26 years old, of Stockton were found at a Comfort Inn in Monrovia and were arrested, police said. Dezerea Lyons, 18 years old, of Napa, was also arrested at the hotel.
Detectives believed that Lyons was insulted by a comment made by Niles though it is unclear what was said. She then threatened the victim, saying "you don't know what I'm capable of," and called and texted Parker and Perkins, the LA Times reported. When Niles walked the two women out, Parker and Perkins were allegedly waiting to confront the victim.
Investigators believed, Lyons “orchestrated the violent attack on the victim,” and that the second woman had no involvement in this. Lyons was arrested on suspicion of murder, and Parker and Perkins were arrested on suspicion of murder and false imprisonment. All three are being held on $2 million bail. Investigators are working to find who pulled the trigger during the incident.
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By Prakriti Neogi
