3 suspects arrested in Porter Ranch killings tied to drug trade, police say

Thursday, June 6, 2019
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Authorities have arrested two men and a woman in the fatal shooting of three people at a Porter Ranch home in February that investigators now say was tied to a major drug trafficking operation.

The three suspects were arrested on the East Coast and are currently awaiting extradition to Los Angeles.
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Kenneth Peterson was arrested in North Carolina, while Travis Llewellyn Reid and Chaquetta Charmain Cook were arrested in the Baltimore area, police say.

The three victims were found dead in February inside a Porter Ranch home on the 20000 block of Via Galileo.

The victims were identified as Gary O'Neil Davidson, 39, from Reseda and a renter of the home; Benito Lopez-Vasquez, 46, of Anaheim and Jesus Perez, 34, of Perris.

Police say the killings were part of a business dispute in what was termed a major drug dealing operation between the coasts. Drug transactions took place inside the home, police say.
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"It's a significant drug operation," said LAPD Capt. William Hayes. "It appears to have been going from Los Angeles to Baltimore."



Hayes said the drug involved was mostly cocaine, with some marijuana.

Cook was being held on $2 million bail while the other two suspects were being held without bail as they await extradition.
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