A man who led Los Angeles police on a car chase in which he fatally dragged a carjacking victim for 2 miles has been charged with the death and with the killing of an accomplice during a robbery in which two victims were also shot, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Joshua Reneau, 31, Derek Lateef Hall, 28, and Miracole Brown, 22, are each charged with one count of murder, five counts of assault with a firearm and two counts of second-degree robbery stemming from a July 29 robbery and murder of an alleged accomplice in the city’s Reseda neighborhood. Hall also faces one count each of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Reneau also faces an additional count of murder, four counts of assault on a peace officer, two counts of carjacking, two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of fleeing a pursuing officer’s vehicle causing death.
“I am grateful that these dangerous individuals are now in custody. Those charged in this case showed a wanton disregard for the victims who were needlessly killed and hurt,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement announcing the charges. “My heart breaks for all the victims who have suffered but I am thankful that this vicious crime spree has come to an end.
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Authorities were surveilling Reneau on Oct. 13 in connection with the events that occurred months earlier in Reseda. He got into a car and drove off, but refused to pull over when officers tried stopping him, prosecutors said.
He then allegedly crashed and carjacked a vehicle in South Los Angeles. He drove off, but the motorist, 63-year-old Larry Walker, was pinned under the car and dragged for 2 miles and died, prosecutors said.
During the chase, Reneau crashed into several cars and eventually flipped the stolen vehicle. He was arrested following a lengthy standoff with authorities.
He was initially wanted for the killing of Earl Hunter during the alleged robbery in Reseda. Officers were called that day about an assault with a deadly weapon and found two gunshot victims who survived their injuries.
Investigators believe one of the victims was targeted for the jewelry he was wearing, Fox Los Angeles reported. Officers responding to the robbery found Hunter, 32, at a second location.
He participated in the robbery but was shot by a security guard and his body was dumped elsewhere, officials said. He was taken to a hospital where he died.
Reneau, Brown and Hall all face murder charges in Hunter’s death.
