California mayor Daniel Crespo shot to death by wife

The mayor of Bell Gardens was fatally shot Tuesday afteoon in a dispute with his wife, who was in custody, authorities said.

Authorities on the scene of the shooting told reporters that Mayor Daniel Crespo died after being shot multiple times in the torso by his wife.

Their 19-year-old son tried to intervene in an argument between the couple, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Steve Jauch said. Then Crespo’s wife shot her husband, according to Jauch.

Levette Crespo, the wife, was detained, the lieutenant said.

Homicide detectives were assisting the Bell Gardens Police Department with a shooting that occurred in the 6300 block of Gage Avenue, Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Deputy Crystal Heandez said. She did not initially identify the victim of the shooting.

A Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman confirmed that first responders arrived to a report of a gunshot victim about 2:30 p.m.

Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that the shooting was believed to be “domestic” in nature and took place at Crespo’s home, the newspaper reported.

Aerial video showed investigators on scene at the Gage Avenue address just before 5 p.m. They appeared to be working inside a gated residential complex called Viñas la Campana.

Crespo relocated from New York City to Bell Gardens in 1987, according to his bio on the city’s website.

He was elected to City Council in 2001.

Los Angeles County CEO Bill Fujioka said on Twitter that he was “thinking about” Crespo, calling him a longtime county probation employee with more than 21 years on the job.

Bell Gardens is about 10 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

Source: KTLA