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Lincoln Heights -- A man who shot three police officers in a gun battle earlier that left him dead was a suspect in an extortion case, police said today.
The LAPD did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation, but said 32-year-old Joseph Magana was a parolee who was "a named suspect for an investigative report for extortion that occurred in Hollenbeck Division." The division covers Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Hermon, Lincoln Heights, Montecito Heights and Monterey Hills.
Officers conducting surveillance around 4 p.m. Wednesday spotted the suspect walking in the area near the 3800 block of North Broadway, between Lincoln Park Avenue and Mission Road, and established a perimeter in the area, police said. When they lost sight of him, they requested backup from canine units.
According to police, one of the dogs alerted officers to a downstairs unit that appeared to be a converted living space still under construction. Officers surrounded the area and began calling for Magana to surrender. When he failed to comply, officers deployed "a chemical agent" in hopes of flushing him out, police said.
Magana responded by opening fire at police, striking three officers at about 6pm. Police returned fire as the suspect retreated back inside.
A SWAT team was called in during the standoff, and a robot was deployed into the unit, where Magana was seen on camera and "appeared to be unresponsive." Magana, who had been hit by gunfire, was pronounced him dead at the scene, police.
According to the LAPD, two handguns were recovered at the scene, one of them a 9mm semi-automatic "ghost gun" and a 9mm Glock semi-automatic pistol. A loaded "extended high-capacity magazine" was also recovered, police said.
The three wounded officers were treated at Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, and two of them were released Thursday night, police said. The third was still hospitalized, but police have indicated that all three officers were expected to recover.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Magana had a lengthy criminal record, including being charged with battery on a police officer.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.