Bodies, Thousands Of Rounds Of Ammo Found In Wreckage Of Valley Fire

SYLMAR, CA — An investigation was continuing Tuesday into the deaths of two people found in the aftermath of a major fire that ripped through a Sylmar home where thousands of rounds of ammunition were stored, with one report suggesting the fatalities were the result of a murder-suicide.

The greater-alarm fire was reported shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday in the 13700 block of Glenoaks Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Police responded to the location after receiving a radio call of shots being fired in the same area, the Los Angeles Police Department reported.

Following the fire, a woman's body was found in a pool, and the bodies of a man and a dog were found in the burned-out debris, the LAFD and LAPD reported.

On Monday, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner identified the woman as Phyllis Ann Patterson, 68.

The man was not immediately identified, but KNX News, citing an unnamed LAPD source, reported Monday that he was 55-year-old Richard Yapelli Jr., who was a former leader of a 1980s punk band-turned-street-gang in the San Fernando Valley known as Fight for Freedom, or FFF. The gang was unique for being made up primarily of white youths from generally upscale neighborhoods.

KNX reported that the dead woman was Yapelli's aunt, and she was trying to kick him out of the residence. According to the report, Yapelli fatally shot his aunt, then shot her dog before setting the home ablaze and killing himself.

LAPD officials could not immediately confirm the report.

Neighbors told KNX there was a tower in the backyard of the home that Yapelli would often climb to look around the area. One neighbor told the station he kept high bushes positioned in his yard to block Yapelli's view of his property.

No first responders were injured while battling the blaze, according to the LAFD.

Police said weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found at the site. A bomb squad was called to the location, as well as an arson detail. The bomb squad made sure the ordnance was rendered safe, the LAPD reported.

According to Brian Humphrey of the LAFD, firefighters found "heavy fire to the rear of one of three buildings on a 1.6-acre residential parcel of land, with the intense flames extending to a pair of adjacent structures on the property."

"As the first arriving firefighters were preparing to commence an offensive fire attack on the blossoming fire, they heard sounds similar to rapid gunfire coming from the burning premises, and immediately transitioned to a defensive posture, via an exterior attack on flames with large hose streams, focused on preventing fire spread to neighboring properties," Humphrey said in a statement.

"Teams of additional firefighters and patrol officers from the Mission Community Police Station arriving in the pre-dawn darkness were also met by neighbors who shared important insight, observations and concerns regarding perceived or known hazards at the burning structures, allowing responders to quickly and effectively take action that protected the neighbors, adjacent homes and emergency response personnel as heat, smoke and a cacophony of rapid exploding ammunition filled the air," Humphrey said.

The fire was extinguished in an hour and 11 minutes, Humphrey said.

"Despite intense fire and thousands of rounds of ammunition exploding during the blaze, no first responder injuries were reported," Humphrey said.

"As smoke cleared during their final extinguishment of the fire, firefighters discovered the remains of an adult female in a swimming pool, as well as the remains of an adult male and a deceased pet canine, in the rubble of the fire," Humphrey said.

No other victims were found, Humphrey said.

"The all-but-destroyed buildings were soon `red tagged' as unfit for entry by the City's Department of Building & Safety," Humphrey said.

"With multiple firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition discovered in the burnt premises, as well as what was believed to be ballistic ordnance, the LAPD Bomb Squad was dispatched to the scene, as well as LAPD Metropolitan Division Underwater Dive Unit to recover the deceased woman from the pool," Humphrey said.

"LAFD and LAPD personnel worked closely and effectively in a Unified Command during the response phase of the incident," Humphrey said.

"With the transition to an investigatory phase, LAFD Arson Investigators will focus on formally determining the cause of the fire, while the Los Angeles Police Department will serve as the lead agency in the overall and ongoing incident investigation, working closely with the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner, as that agency seeks to positively identify the decedents, as well as the specific cause, time and manner of their death," Humphrey said.

City News Service