1 Year After Killing of Innocent Cyclist, 1 Suspect in Custody but 3 More at Large

On the night of June 6, 2011, 19-year-old Shoichi Joe Minesaki of Sylmar was biking north on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood on his way home to Sylmar. According to Det. Mark O'Donnell of the Los Angeles Police Department, Minesaki, who had no gang ties and was "a good kid," had grown up in North Hollywood and had been visiting friends in the area.

He never made it home.

In a terrible case of mistaken identity, O'Donnell said he was spotted by some members of the notorious El Salvadorian MS-13 gang, who were having a party in the garage of an apartment building at 6859 Laurel Canyon, which he described as an MS-13 stronghold.

Minesaki was shot to death while riding his bicycle, but an off-duty Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy witnessed the shooting. The deputy chased a van full of suspects through North Hollywood and into Van Nuys but lost the van. It was discovered by an LAPD airship within ten minutes. It had been parked and abandoned and a massive air and K-9 search of the area ensued, but none of the suspects were found.

Read Patch's original report:

On Dec. 8, 2011, William Quitanilla, 30, who was the registered owner of the van, was arrested and charged with the killing after LAPD officers served seven search warrants around L.A., including North Hollywood, Pacoima and an apartment on Aldridge Street in Los Angeles. O'Donnell said there are at least three other outstanding suspects police have identified but he did not want to publicly name them because he does not want to risk them fleeing.

O'Donnell said key evidence was gathered from the scene of the party, including fingerprints off beer cans, and video evidence from the surveillance camera of a nearby convenience store. Evidence was also gathered from the van that was recovered.

Quitanilla has a preliminary hearing set for Feb. 28.

Read more about MS-13 in this Los Angeles Times story: L.A. Violence Crosses the Line