Police search for vigilante shooter in East Hollywood nightclub crash

LOS ANGELES – Police Saturday identified a 28-year-old man wanted for shooting a driver who was accused of plowing into a crowd of pedestrians in East Hollywood in Los Angeles, and sought the public’s help locating him.

Efrain Villalobos of Lawndale is suspected of shooting 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez in the lower back during a chaotic scene outside a nightclub in the early hours of July 19, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

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Efrain Villalobos | Photo from LAPD

Officers responded around 2 a.m. to the 1000 block of North Vermont Avenue, where a mass casualty incident had been reported involving at least 37 victims.

LAPD Capt. Ben Fernandes told the Los Angeles Times last month that Ramirez had been kicked out of the nightclub for being disruptive before he crashed into the crowd.

Ramirez — who has a lengthy criminal record in Orange County dating back to 2014 — was charged July 22 with 37 counts each of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon in a case in which he could face a potential life prison sentence if he is convicted as charged.

The charges “correspond to each of the 37 victims that suffered injuries as a result of Mr. Ramirez’s actions,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said last month.

Police said Ramirez was pulled from the vehicle and shot in the back by Villalobos as onlookers set upon him after the crash.

Villalobos was described as a 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 160 pounds, with a shaved head and brown eyes. According to the LAPD, he has several distinctive features, including gauged piercings in both ears and multiple tattoos: his last name “VILLALOBOS” on his right forearm, the phrase

“Respect is earned not given” on the inner part of his right arm, and the name “Miabella” on his left inner arm.

Villalobos faces felony charges in connection with the shooting of Ramirez and is considered armed and dangerous.

Ramirez is scheduled to return to a downtown Los Angeles courtroom on Sept. 4 for arraignment.

His previous court dates were postponed for just over a week while he recovered from the gunshot wound sustained after the crash. He has since been transferred to Men’s Central Jail, where he remains held in lieu of about $37 million bail. (CNS)

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