Man Shot Near Beach Lot

By Jorge Casuso

A passenger in a car leaving a beach parking lot near the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel was shot and wounded shortly before midnight Friday after an argument with the passengers of another parked vehicle turned violent, Santa Monica police said.

The victim, identified by police as a man in his twenties from Los Angeles, was taken to Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, where he was treated and released, said Lt. Gary Gallinot, the police department spokesman.

A suspect identified as Juan Carlos Villa, 21, of Los Angeles was arrested and booked for attempted murder.

"The investigation is continuing and additional arrests are anticipated," Gallinot said.

The shooting appears to have stemmed from an argument between two groups who had parked close to each other in one of the public beach lots, Gallinot said. According to witnesses, a member of one of the groups retrieved a handgun from one of the vehicles.

The man then fired at the other vehicle as it left the lot near Appian Way and Marine Terrace, Gallinot said.

Police officers patrolling the beach heard the shot and arrived at the scene as the suspects were running away, Gallinot said. After cordoning off the area, police conducted an extensive search that turned up a firearm.

Police said it is too soon to tell if the shooting was gang related.

The shooting comes less than two months after five people were shot on the Santa Monica Pier during a fight police believe may have been gang related. During the fight a man pulled out a gun and fired several shots.

No arrests have been made in the March 11 shooting.

Neighbors of the area south of the pier were rattled by Friday night's shooting, which occurred near the corner where German tourist Horst Fietze was shot and killed in Oct. 1998.

"This is really serious," said Ellen Brennan, who chairs the South Beach Neighborhood Association. "People are scared to walk out at night. If someone can be shot on your street, you feel a threat."

Those who have information about Friday night's shooting should call police at 458-8427.