In the shadows of East Los Angeles, a small house sandwiched between two freeways and a cemetery became the center of a chilling murder investigation.
For several years, Ray Lugo, a seasoned detective from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, had his suspicions about Anthony Velasquez and his father, Manuel, who lived in the home on Humphreys Avenue.
Between 2014 and 2018, three individuals with connections to Velasquez were murdered within two miles of their residence, prompting Lugo to delve deeper into the case.
The victims included Jesus Avalos, Eduardo Robles, and Amanda Nicole Lopez, each linked to Velasquez in various ways.
Despite having solid evidence—such as a violent confrontation with a victim, ballistic matches, and a matching vehicle description—Lugo was thwarted by the community’s reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement.
“This community is really, really tight,” Lugo observed, noting how the neighborhood, bordered off by freeways and a cemetery, fostered an insular atmosphere that made residents fearful of coming forward.
Velasquez, described as a recluse, reportedly resided in the house purchased by his grandparents, rarely appeared in public, and claimed to work as a custodian, despite detectives observing his limited outings.
His father, a driveway mechanic, was similarly homebound, creating a seemingly secure environment that the Velasquez family exploited.
Detective Lugo was vocal about his suspicions, impounding the family car and monitoring Manuel’s communications in hopes of uncovering more evidence.
Yet, Velasquez felt invulnerable, understanding how fear permeated the neighborhood.
Diana Prieto, the niece of one of the victims, described Velasquez as a “loner” but acknowledged that people had learned to fear him.
The first homicide linked to Velasquez occurred in 2014, when a confrontation escalated to violence.
After being denied entry to Avalos’s home while searching for a woman, Velasquez angrily discharged a firearm into the air, igniting a feud.
Following a physical fight between them, Avalos and Velasquez momentarily reconciled over dinner and drinks, but as the night drew to a close, Velasquez slammed the door behind him, setting in motion a tragic chain of events.
Hours later, Avalos was found dead in his vehicle, shot multiple times while still buckled in his seat.
The methodical planning of Avalos’s murder left no witnesses or solid leads and marked a shift in the community’s perception of safety.
Just over a year later, Velasquez crossed paths with another acquaintance, Eduardo Robles, during a confrontation in which Robles accused him of being involved in Avalos’s death.
Witnesses observed Velasquez vandalizing Robles’s vehicle before swiftly leaving the scene.
A short while later, gunfire erupted, and Robles fell victim to a killer who boldly stalked him in the open.
Despite numerous witnesses to the vandalism, no one spoke up about the shooting, showcasing the crippling fear that paralyzed the neighborhood.
A couple of years passed before the third murder occurred, marking a dramatic escalation in Velasquez’s troubling connections.
In April 2018, Amanda Nicole Lopez, a woman with ties to Velasquez, was shot in a homeless encampment outside a courthouse.
Lopez had relied on Velasquez for assistance in between her struggles, but an unreciprocated affection seemingly drove him to violence.
After this tragic event, Lugo began to connect the dots linking Velasquez to all three murders.
However, a lack of tangible evidence stymied any immediate legal action, forcing Lugo and his team to go public with their appeal for information.
In 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors offered an $80,000 reward, and detectives distributed flyers throughout the Velasquez neighborhood featuring sketches that resembled father and son.
It wasn’t until new witnesses came forward about the Robles murder that the authorities finally arrested the father-son duo in September 2021.
Upon their arrest, both Velasquez and his father remained tight-lipped, leaving detectives without direct confessions.
Lugo sought a new strategy, eventually flipping the script by placing Velasquez in a jail cell outfitted with hidden microphones.
Inside the cell, Velasquez expressed outrage at being perceived as the scapegoat for the murders, revealing a disturbing nonchalance regarding his actions.
He shared insights about his methods for evading capture, including using duct tape to obscure traces of his presence, modifying firearms to eliminate ballistic evidence, and even resorting to extreme measures like burning his fingerprints.
In the course of these conversations, he acknowledged the lethargy of neighborhood residents toward testifying against him, indicating a pervasive climate of intimidation.
Velasquez revealed that his father was complicit in his crimes, displaying a twisted loyalty as they engaged in these heinous acts together.
Ultimately, Anthony Velasquez was charged with three counts of murder, while Manuel Velasquez entered a plea of no contest to charges of manslaughter and accessory to murder.
As a result of the trial, Anthony Velasquez was sentenced to an astonishing 150 years to life in prison, an outcome that ignited an outpouring of grief from the victims’ families.
Despite the verdict, Anthony Velasquez’s attorney insisted on his innocence and expressed intentions for an appeal.
Throughout the investigation, Lugo felt a deep-seated animosity toward the Velasquez family, a sentiment that was undeniably mutual.
The case serves as a sobering reminder of the profound impact of fear in tightly-knit communities, where silence often reigns over the quest for justice.
image source from：latimes
