'El Mago,' drug trafficker with ties to son of 'El Chapo' and Sinaloa cartel, shot dead in LA
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An associate of the Sinaloa cartel who worked for the son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was one of two men who were shot and killed in an industrial area in the Willowbrook area last week, Eyewitness News has learned.
Eduardo Escobedo, 39, was found dead Thursday morning near the intersection of Rosecrans and Towne avenues following a shooting, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office identified the second man gunned down as Guillermo De Los Angeles Jr., 47. Another man survived the shooting and was treated at a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.
Escobedo, a convicted drug trafficker nicknamed "El Mago," which translates to "The Magician," was the primary local marijuana distributor for Guzman's oldest son, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, the Los Angeles Times reported.
He was released from prison in 2018 after serving nearly five years for drug distribution and money laundering.
RELATED: Mexico arrests alleged security chief for the 'Chapitos' wing of the Sinaloa drug cartel
Deputies and firefighter-paramedics arrived to the scene Thanksgiving morning after the shooting was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. Two men were lying dead in the parking area of a property consisting of warehouses and other commercial facilities.
"We have no motive at this time. It appears that there was some type of gathering or party at the location from last night to early this morning," sheriff's Lt. Omar Camacho told Eyewitness News Thursday at the scene.
Video from AIR7 HD showed investigators examining a black sedan that was near the bodies with its front doors open. Forty-foot shipping containers, semitrucks and a forklift were parked nearby.
A business owner from a nearby building told Eyewitness News that the facility where the deadly shooting happened was rented out for parties.
No arrests have been announced.
