A California inmate was killed last week outside a facility near MacArthur Park where some prisoners are allowed to serve the final months of their terms in the community, authorities said.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation did not announce the homicide, which occurred Sept. 2, and only acknowledged that an inmate in its custody was killed after receiving questions from The Times.
Mary Xjimenez, a spokeswoman for CDCR, said two prisoners were shot outside a facility where inmates can serve the tail end of their sentences in a residential setting.
Officer Drake Madison, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said a male suspect approached the two victims at the corner of 6th and Park View streets around 9:30 a.m.
The suspect exchanged words with the men before shooting them, Madison said. One of the victims, described only as a 56-year-old man, was hospitalized in stable condition, Madison said. The other died.
The suspect fled on foot, Madison said. He hasn’t been identified by police.
Xjimenez declined to disclose information about the victims, such as their names or why they were in prison, saying the LAPD told her it would “hamper” their investigation.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the dead man as Joshua Orozco, 35. In a GoFundMe post, Orozco’s family said he was killed “just as he was turning his life around.”
“He was so excited to have this second chance and was eager to start a new chapter in his life, working toward a better future and spending time with his family,” they wrote. “This sudden loss has devastated all of us.”
A law enforcement official who wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the case said Orozco was a reputed member of the Two-Fivers, a gang composed of so-called “drop-outs” who are targeted by traditional street and prison gangs.
The facility near MacArthur Park is one of three operated by CDCR in Los Angeles County as part of its Male Community Reentry Program. The other two are in South Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Around 730 men convicted of crimes in state courts are currently serving what’s left of their time in seven Male Community Reentry Program facilities across California. A similar program houses roughly 400 female inmates in six facilities.
CDCR has touted its reentry programs, which give prisoners access to drug treatment, job training and other services. In August, the department published a study that said participants were significantly less likely to re-offend than inmates who served their entire terms in prison.
Inmates are allowed to leave the facilities with prior approval, and Xjimenez said the two victims were returning from an “approved activity” when they were shot.
CDCR says only inmates with 32 months or less remaining on their sentences are eligible for the reentry programs. But in March the department reported that Deshon Daniels, who was less than seven years into a 15-year sentence for robbery, had absconded from an L.A. County facility.
Daniels, 27, was arrested nearly two weeks later. Now housed at Calipatria state prison in Imperial County, he faces escape charges in Los Angeles County.
Six inmates absconded from Male Community Reentry Program facilities in Los Angeles County this year, according to a review of public statements by CDCR. They included five convicted robbers and one man incarcerated for fleeing police.
CDCR agents captured all of the escapees but Jose Arroyo, who has been serving a 21-year term for robbery since 2008. Arroyo, 39, walked away from an L.A. County facility on March 28 and has not been seen since.
