Murder LA 000017

by James Cohen

Vasquez. Police photo
via OC Register.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 22nd, 2008 - STANTON.

Matias Ojeda Vazquez, 42, is at the La Barca Night Club on Beach Blvd, which, according to its single yelp review, is a good place to meet older women.

The older woman tonight is 48-year-old Leticia Carrasco. They get along well enough, or perhaps a sex-for-money arrangement is struck; she will later be described as "desperate." A deal makes sense in another way, to ensure Vasquez has cash - Leticia plans to rob him. Either way, he drives them back to her room at the Covered Wagon Motel in Buena Park.

Leticia. Police photo
via OC Register.

Vasquez begins undressing but is interrupted by Leticia's son, Noel. The 22-year-old has allegedly been lying in wait and demands Vasquez's money. The older man refuses and in the ensuing struggle he is beaten, stabbed and asphyxiated. Vasquez's corpse is wrapped in a comforter and a dog food bag and stuffed in the trunk of his Honda Accord.

The mother and son Carrascos then drive the vehicle to Las Vegas, dumping the corpse in a desert off the I-15 along the way. The deceased will not be found for several weeks.

MONDAY, JANUARY 12th, 2009.

Noel. Police photo
via OC Register.

Noel Carrasco is arrested on foot in Vegas. He has a knife on him, which police believe to be the murder weapon. It is later claimed that he used Vasquez's cell phone to text his girlfriend.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14th, 2009.

Following tips, Police apprehend Leticia Carrasco, who was still driving the stolen Accord.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 31st, 2013.

Leticia Carrasco, now 52, is found guilty of murder and robbery. She will be sentenced in April. While she faces up to 25 years in prison, her son may get life. Noel Carrasco's trial will start in March.

NOTES

• Vasquez was married and had five children.
• Apparently the Carrascos went to Vegas because they had family there.
• The Covered Wagon Motel is "right across Knott's Berry Farm and next to Walgreens" and their website hearkens back to the early days of the internet, when people thought embedding music was a good idea.
• This is not strictly in Los Angeles, but bordering it. Stop complaining.