1 Slain, 2 Bystanders Hurt in Gang Shootout Outside Home

A drive-by shooting at a Highland Park home left one man dead and return fire by one of the victim’s companions seriously injured two bystanders, authorities said Thursday.

The shootout began about 9 p.m. Wednesday, when a group of youths in a white Chevrolet fired more than 20 rounds at four men standing on the porch of a home in the 5200 block of Meridian Street, said Detective Joe Berumen of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Northeast Division.

Joel Jauregui, 19, a visitor at the house, was fatally shot in the head, Berumen said. The other three men were not hit, but one ran after the fleeing car and fired four rounds from a handgun.

One bullet struck a man who had stopped his pickup truck down the block to let out a passenger. As the wounded motorist, Dean Crabb, 27, slumped over, his pickup lurched forward, striking the passenger, Lori Roberts, 20, who was crouching next to the vehicle to avoid the bullets.

Crabb, who was struck in the back of the neck, was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital, where he was in stable condition Thursday. Roberts was taken to Glendale Memorial Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition Thursday.

Jauregui was pronounced dead early Thursday at County-USC Medical Center.

Berumen said no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting at the house, reportedly a popular gathering spot for members of a local gang.

Authorities believe that the initial shots were fired by members of a rival gang, but they do not know which of the survivors returned fire.

The Wednesday night shootout occurred just seven hours after another drive-by shooting at the same address left a 16-year-old boy seriously injured, Berumen said. The boy, whose name was not released, was shot in the back while working on a car with his father. Police said he was in stable condition.