You now see graffiti etched in the store windows on Magnolia all the way to the LA City line. (Don't get me started on the inbred city council and their concerns of banning dry cleaners in the city and keeping the Bob Hope airport small!)
-----Daily News Article--------
<--this guy will die
Murder Suspect, David A. Garcia, 19, is described as a 6-foot-1, 220-pound Hispanic man with brown eyes and a shaved head.
Slain Burbank Officer Matthew Pavelka, 26, had joined the force 10 months ago after serving in the U.S. Air Force.
Statue for Burbank’s public safety officers is adorned with flowers. Officer Gregory Campbell remained hospitalized
Shooter sought in cop's slaying By Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer
BURBANK -- Police mounted a massive manhunt Sunday for a gunman who killed rookie Burbank Police Officer Matthew Pavelka and wounded a second officer in a gunbattle after a routine traffic stop. A second gunman was killed by the officers.
Pavelka was the first Burbank officer killed by gunfire in 83 years.
Police from at least seven agencies searched street by street for a suspect who climbed from a Cadillac Escalade while he fired a fusillade of bullets after police approached the vehicle in a Ramada Inn parking lot Saturday night.
Pavelka, 26, a rookie with less than a year on the force, died during surgery at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest. Gregory Campbell, a 41-year-old decorated police officer, was in stable condition Sunday at the hospital with wounds to his stomach and neck.
"It's a horrible tragedy, I'm pretty upset and overwhelmed," said Burbank Mayor Stacey Murphy, with her voice shaking. "This is the kind of thing we dread every day; we'd been very fortunate so far."
Police identified the suspect as David A. Garcia, 19, of Sun Valley, a 6-foot-1-inch, 220-pound Hispanic man with brown eyes and a shaved head.
Police urged anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts to call (818) 238-3000, or (818) 238-3130.
"This is a terrible tragedy," Chief Thomas Hoefel said. "This suspect is a cold-blooded murderer. He is armed and dangerous and should be treated with extreme caution."
The officers were shot about 6:30 p.m. after Campbell observed a sport utility vehicle with paper license plates and no window registration in a remote parking lot known for auto theft, burglary and narcotics activity at 2900 N. San Fernando Blvd., just east of Burbank Airport.
When the driver failed to produce a registration, Campbell called in Pavelka as backup.
When the driver was asked to get out of the vehicle, police said, he and a passenger began firing on the officers with two handguns apiece, Hoefel said. The gunmen fired at least 30 rounds at the officers.
Campbell and Pavelka, both wounded, managed to fire 15 rounds in return. The driver, Ramon Aranda, 25, of Sun Valley, was shot at least once in the chest and died at the scene.
Both officers wear wearing bulletproof vests, which were not pierced by gunfire, Hoefel said.
Other weapons, including an AR-15 assault rifle, were found in the car, according to police, who said they also found about 3 ounces of methamphetamine.
The suspect eluded a SWAT team, police dogs and at least one helicopter in a dragnet around the Ramada Inn.
Off-duty Burbank police quickly reported in to join the manhunt. Burbank police were helped by officers from the Glendale, Los Angeles, Pasadena and San Fernando police departments, as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol. Evening rain hampered the search.
TV stations showed officers wielding rifles through the streets, while others wearing protective gear scoured rooftops, pointed flashlights in cars and searched the Ramada Inn pool area.
Five miles of Interstate 5 were temporarily closed in the search, snarling traffic for hours, a CHP spokesman said.
Campbell, described as a family man and street-wise officer, has worked on the Burbank force 15 years and previously received a Medal of Valor when he served in the Santa Paula Police Department.
Pavelka, a native of Burbank, enlisted in the police academy in August 2002 and had been a working patrols since January.
"He was a good kid -- nice attitude, wanted to learn, a hard worker," said Burbank police Sgt. William Berry, the department spokesman. "This is a very difficult time."
On Sunday, flags flew at half-staff at Burbank Police and Fire Headquarters. Out front, flowers encircled a bronze shrine erected to the guardians of the city of movie studios and 100,000 residents. One flower pot was inscribed, "Thank you for your sacrifice -- R.I.P."
Drivers honked horns in tribute.
The last Burbank officer to die from a bullet was Deputy Marshal Robert L. Normand, shot July 30, 1920. Another officer, Marshal Luther Colson, was killed by gunfire 89 years ago -- on Nov. 16, 1914.
In 1961, two Burbank motorcycle officers died three months apart in separate crashes.
"The whole thing is a waste -- to the kids' lives and to the officers. It's just sad," said Michelle Morin, 42, of Burbank, who lives in what she called "a bad area" three blocks from where the officers were shot on Saturday.
"I think the police have such a tremendous job taking care of crime," added her mother, Isolia Morin, 77, who lives with her. "It's gotten worse in recent years."