2 arrested in deadly shooting of Inglewood man who interrupted catalytic converter theft, police say
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- Two suspects have been arrested more than a week after a man was shot and killed as he interrupted a catalytic converter theft in progress outside his Inglewood home, authorities said Friday.
The Inglewood Police Department told Eyewitness News both suspects were taken into custody after a seven-hour standoff with the agency's SWAT team.
Wilver Alberto Rabanales and Jose Christian Saravia Sanchez were booked at the Inglewood Jail for the killing of Juan Miguel Sanchez.
The shooting happened last Tuesday around 3:22 a.m. in the 1000 block of North Chester Avenue. Loved ones said Sanchez was heading to work when he heard a noise at his neighbor's house and tried to stop the theft. Police said he was shot in the chest area and later died.
Surveillance video showed the suspects flee south on North Chester Avenue and east on 65th Street, police said. Footage from a Ring camera also captured the shooting.
Sanchez's sister said he was excited about a recent promotion at Clean Harbors and had just wrapped up a project in the Palisades Fire zone.
"It's been a very difficult time trying to understand how somebody could do this to another human being," Juan's sister Susana Sanchez said.
Sanchez is survived by a wife, two children and grandson. He was also an avid church volunteer.
Sanchez was described in a GoFundMe campaign as a "devoted husband, a loving father, a proud grandfather, and a cherished friend to so many."
The deadly incident has drawn comparisons to the killing of "General Hospital" actor Johnny Wactor in downtown Los Angeles last May.
He was shot as thieves tried to steal the catalytic converter from his car.
