Once considered a sleepy, peaceful, subdivision of Malibu Canyon, is now more of “Sleepless in Monte Nido” as the area near Piuma and Malibu Canyon, Malibu Creek State Park and the Hindu Temple have become plagued by ongoing reports of shots fired and multiple violent crimes occurring.
Since the murder of Tristan Beaudette at Malibu Creek State Park, Lost Hills Sheriffs Department has responded to reports of shots fired no less than 7 times in the area – and the timing of these incidents are all over the map, leading to the conclusion that there could be more than one shooter. Some possibly with only the intention of taunting residents.
Reports of gunshots have occurred almost every week since the murder of Beaudette, with Lost Hills Sheriffs Department taking no chances, rolling out multiple units, including ground and air support in most instances.
Most searches were inconclusive leaving very little forensic evidence, however, deputies have been successful collecting leads from flyer handouts and canvassing the area. At press time LHSD has multiple “persons of interest” and no plans on releasing a composite sketch.
Unfortunately, the shootings aren’t the only crimes in the area keeping law enforcement busy.
DUMPING GROUND:
To add salt to the proverbial wound, the area where the shootings have taken place has also become what appears to be a hot spot for gang related activity. Body dumps and potentially other violent crimes are occurring. Although authorities are confident the recent discovery of bodies found are not in any way related to the Malibu Canyon shootings.
The body of 52 year old Reynaldo Cruz was found on 5/16/18 behind the Hindu Temple on Las Virgenes Road and was reported to have the distinct markings of an MS 13 executional style gang hit.
The second (decomposed) body found was Roger Chavez Barahona, a 19 year old latino male, found near Fire Camp 8 on July 19. Coroner reports state that Barahona died as a result of gunshot wounds – again, not related to Malibu Canyon shootings.
Both Cruz and Barahona have been linked to gang association.
A ROAD WELL TRAVELED
Malibu Canyon is a major thoroughfare for area residents, making the commute nerve wracking not only at night, but commuters are feeling unsettled during day as well with the last five reports (7/12, 7/22, 7/25, 8/5, 8/9) of reports of shots fired occurring between a window of 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. resulting in a full roll out of deputies responding.
Aside from the numerous incidents in July, Lost Hills Sheriffs Department, including members of their Beach Team (who are armed deputies) starting off the month of August responding to reports of shots fired at 7:37 a.m. on Sunday, August 5th and a road closure at the same intersection in the afternoon of August 9th with what law enforcement told us was a reported “road rage” incident.
A motorist called Sheriffs to report what was thought to be a gunshot blowing out the back windshield of a 2002 Honda CRV. Apparently a minor confrontation between two drivers had ensued as well, however after doing an extensive search, deputies came up empty handed and no evidence linking it to a shooting.
MULTIPLE SHOOTERS?
While investigators are looking at all the leads, many of the reports of shots fired have left very little forensics, if any, for investigators to go on. The time frames of which the reports are coming in suggest there could be multiple shooters and/or a copy cat looking to further terrorize the Community.
INFORMATION IS EVERYTHING
Clearly, the criminal activity in the area does not seen to be slowing down and continues to pose a serious threat to residents, visitors and commuters.
So whose responsibility is it to inform the community and ensure public safety?
In the eyes of the people, the responsibility falls first and foremost on Law Enforcement. As a reporter and member of the community, I can safely say I’ve seen definite improvement in communication with the Lost Hills Sheriffs Department who has continued to make strides in opening up to the press regarding the recent incidents and crimes reported – but they also need to be cautious – and understandably so.
There is no question, with social media and the internet being an extremely important part of news reporting, false information can spread quickly and cause widespread panic. Which is why we feel it is our staff’s duty to continue to dig, verify and inform via our multiple platforms where L.E. might not be able to make a formal statement.
However, the City of Malibu holds some responsibility here as well.
City Manager Reva Feldman gloated about her “new and improved” Public Safety Department to the Malibu Times back in April of 2017, yet failed miserably to “raise the bar” as promised, saying: “I felt after ( Emergency Services Coordinator) Brad Davis left that it was a great opportunity to revisit how we handle public safety issues,” Feldman said. “It needed to be handled at a higher level.”
Instead, residents have seen a 50% reduction (I’m being generous) in services and a raise to not only Feldman’s pay, but we are now paying almost double the salary for a Public Safety Manager we seldom hear from or see – not during fires, floods – and most certainly no where to be found speaking on behalf of the City regarding the shootings that are clearly shaking residents to their core.
The Malibu City Council policy handbook exists as the single check and balance that we have to insure or hold the City to fair, unbiased and transparent work in all areas.
The Policy Handbook empowers residents with tools to hold the City Council, staff and contractors to ethical business practices and transparency. That “transparency” most certainly includes Public Safety and it looks like City officials are allowing policy #38 to collect dust:
Which brings us to a few very important questions:
- Why is the City of Malibu staying silent on the shootings?
2. Why are City officials violating their own policies and refusing to inform their constituents of the potential danger in Malibu Canyon, a thoroughfare for residents and visitors?
3. Why would our Mayor, Rick Mullen, also an L.A. County Fire Captain with Station 72 in Decker Canyon support the City’s silence?
4. What are City officials hiding?
Below is a map that was compiled with the help of local Benjamin Kuo and confirmed with our sources in law enforcement detailing the multiple crimes and reports of shots fired in the area of Malibu Canyon, Malibu Creek State Park and the Hindu Temple.
Please note that “reports of shots” fired are in green and confirmed shots fired in orange. There is a distinct difference between the two.
REWARD
The reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Tristan Beaudette has reached $35,000 with the recent donation of $5000 from the City of Calabasas. Other donors to the reward money are Beaudette’s employers Allergen who gave $15000, LA County $15000 (at the request of Sheila Khuel) and the City of Malibu $5000.
This is a developing story. – Cece Woods, Editor in Chief
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