LOS ANGELES, CA — A man was ordered Friday to stand trial on charges stemming from the shooting of a driver who allegedly plowed into a crowd of pedestrians outside an East Hollywood nightclub and injured 37 people.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mildred Escobedo denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the case against Efrain Villalobos, 28, of Lawndale, who is charged with one felony count each of assault with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon.
The criminal complaint alleges that Villalobos personally used a handgun in the commission of the crime and that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on the driver, Fernando Ramirez, who is charged with 37 counts each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.
Villalobos allegedly has prior convictions from 2022 for grand theft and 2024 for burglary, according to the complaint.
He was taken into custody Aug. 3 by Redondo Beach police and subsequently turned over to Los Angeles Police Department detectives.
Villalobos is suspected of shooting Ramirez, 29, in the lower back during a chaotic scene near a nightclub in 1000 block of Vermont Avenue in the early morning hours of July 19, according to the LAPD.
LAPD Detective Jose Hidalgo testified that surveillance video showed that Ramirez was “being assaulted by several males” after being pulled out of the vehicle following the crash along with showing a man he identified as Villalobos — who “was not involved in the collision at all” — hopped over a barrier, crossed the street and was holding what looked like a revolver as he walked toward Ramirez, who was on the ground.
“His hand was extended in the direction of Mr. Ramirez,” the detective testified. “He shoots Mr. Ramirez and then flees on foot.”
The detective said the defendant then went toward a bus station and acquired a skateboard, adding that surveillance videos helped investigators to determine that Villalobos went to an apartment less than two miles away, where a jacket, shoes and a backpack that were seen on other surveillance videos at the crime scene were found.
“He said he does not remember doing that,” the detective said of Villalobos’ response when asked after his arrest about the shooting.
Villalobos subsequently acknowledged that he was the person depicted in four still photos from surveillance videos, including three at the crime scene, the detective said.
LAPD Capt. Ben Fernandes told the Los Angeles Times last month that Ramirez had been kicked out of the nightclub for being disruptive before he crashed into the crowd.
Meanwhile, Ramirez is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom for arraignment Sept. 4. His arraignment had initially been postponed for just over a week while he recovered from the gunshot wound.
Ramirez, who has a lengthy criminal record in Orange County dating back to 2014, was charged July 22 with 37 counts in a case in which he could face a potential life prison sentence if he is convicted as charged.
The charges “correspond to each of the 37 victims that suffered injuries as a result of Mr. Ramirez’s actions,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said last month.
City News Service