PANORAMA CITY : Rewards Offered in 2 Shooting Deaths

Shards of a shattered vinyl LP lay in the parking lot behind 8116 Langdon Ave., where Jose Torres Jr., 23, was shot to death after returning home from a grocery store with his wife and their 4-month-old baby.

To the people of Panorama City, the Torres story is like a broken record--another senseless killing, another family destroyed, another reason to fear the streets.

Hoping to bring swift justice, the Los Angeles Police Department and the City Council on Wednesday offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of Torres’ killer. They also announced a $25,000 reward for information about the unrelated slaying of 23-year-old Benito Ozaeta.

Both shooting deaths took place in Panorama City in November.

At a news conference outside the LAPD’s Van Nuys Division, police released the suspects’ names and photographs and urged anyone with information about either case to contact police immediately.

In the Torres killing, 23-year-old Eudale Jackson, a 5-foot-9, 165-pound African American man, is a suspect, police said.

Jackson, who also is known by the nickname, Bluey, has short hair with a ponytail, Police Detective Lee Jett said.

According to police, some of Jackson’s hangouts include Los Angeles and Sequoia avenues in Simi Valley, 81st and Figueroa streets in Los Angeles, and 136th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard in Hawthorne.

Torres was killed Nov. 21, after he drove into his apartment building’s parking lot off Sepulveda Boulevard. As Torres opened his car door, a man grabbed him and demanded his wallet.

Torres told the man he was carrying his baby and handed the child to his wife, who ran inside and phoned the police. After a struggle, Torres was shot in the head and shoulder. He died the next day.

On Nov. 29, Ozaeta was shot to death on Rayen Street near Tobias Avenue. As he stood astride a bike, Ozaeta was confronted by a man and shot several times. The gunman is believed to have committed a stabbing about an hour earlier that was witnessed by Ozaeta, police said.

In Ozaeta’s death, police suspect Victor Jordan, 29, who is also known as Victor Fuller. He is described as African American, 6 feet tall, weighing 200 pounds and wearing short dreadlocks. Jordan is believed to be armed and dangerous, Jett said.

In December, police hoped Jordan would turn himself in after he contacted the sports department at KCBS Channel 2 and said he wanted to surrender. Jordan agreed to give himself up at a Denny’s restaurant in Panorama City, but never showed, police said.

Jordan’s girlfriend, Sheila Lewis, 20, was charged with accessory to murder after turning herself in Dec. 7.

Anyone with information about either suspect should contact the police at (818) 756-8377. The $25,000 rewards will be offered for 60 days.