“Eight confirmed shooting incidents have occurred since 11/3/16,” State Senator Henry Stern said about the Santa Monica Mountains area near Malibu, during a town hall meeting on Sunday. “The murder of Tristan Beaudette was a senseless act of brutality and I know many rumors persist. Many of you are rightly concerned about the future of public safety here, but these law enforcement agencies have really stepped up and worked together … I’m proud to announce the Santa Monica Mountains Interagency Task Force that you see here today.”
Nearly 350 people attended the meeting held at King Gillette Ranch last Sunday to discuss three recent homicide cases and a number of shooting incidents in and around Malibu Creek State Park. The forum, coordinated by Stern, included members of the public, representatives from five law enforcement agencies, officials from Malibu, Calabasas and Agoura Hills, and numerous media outlets.
At issue was public concern over a number of recent homicide and shooting incidents in a relatively small area and within about 18 months. On Nov. 3, 2016, hiker James Rogers’ arm was struck by gunfire while sleeping in a hammock in Tapia State Park. On Nov. 9, 2016, while camping in Malibu Creek State Park, Meliss Tatangelo heard a loud noise around 5 a.m. and later found a bullet in the back of her car. On June 22, 2018, Tristan Beaudette, a 35-year-old chemist from Irvine, was shot and killed at the same campground while sleeping in a tent alongside his two daughters. At the Malibu Hindu Temple on May 16, 2018, the body of Francisco Cruz, 52, was found dead from blunt force injury—apparently dumped on the side of the road. On Piuma Road on July 27, 2018, the body of Roger Barahona, 19, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds.
Maps handed out at the meeting demonstrated the patchwork of state, national and other public lands across the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills, where five different law enforcement agencies divide jurisdiction: LA County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol, State Parks Rangers, National Park Service Rangers and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy/ Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (SMMC/MRCA) Rangers.
The law enforcement agencies have come under fire from some members of the public and the press for not appearing to coordinate their efforts, and for not being more transparent about the investigations. Therefore, nearly all agency representatives spent time explaining how they are working together, as they have for decades.
They were not willing to discuss details from the ongoing investigation.
In a Q&A session, where written questions were submitted, Detective Lieutenant Jim Royal from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station would not discuss whether there were any “patterns” to the crimes. Lieutenant Rodney Moore of the LA County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Division would not answer whether he thought the Beaudette killing was “random or targeted.” They stated that they didn’t see any connection between these crimes and the death of Mitrice Richardson in 2009 or the disappearance of Elaine Park in 2017.
“Our primary objective today is to share as much information as possible without jeopardizing our case, and quell any rumors,” Royal said. He asked for the public’s help in solving the Beaudette case.
“There have been various unconfirmed reports of shots fired in the area [after the Beaudette murder],” Royal said, “but one was found to be a car backfire, another was a transformer and a third was a heat-related glass windshield shattering.”
Though multiple murders were under investigation, a link was yet to be determined.
“We’re currently investigating the Beaudette murder and two additional murders. The two additional murders were gang-related and Beaudette’s was not,” Moore said. “We do not have a theory or known suspect on Beaudette … but we have very experienced homicide investigators working diligently on the case. We’re not asleep at the wheel.”
Royal added that, “A tremendous amount of resources and expertise have gone into dealing with any future events. I wish I could share more with you, but be assured we have protocols in place to solve these crimes.”
Anyone with information on these cases is urged to call a new, special number: 323.890.5500.
Craig Sap, superintendent of the State Parks Angeles District, assured the audience that “the cooperative management of the Santa Monica Mountains [by law enforcement] goes back a generation.” He said reservations for the 63-site campground at Malibu Creek SP have been cancelled up to Oct. 8. Whether it will reopen or not after that date is still undecided, though the park remains open for day use.
Public Safety Superintendent Tony Hoffman reassured the audience that State Parks keeps a close eye on what’s happening in the parks—they gave out 700 citations last year, including arrests on charges like domestic violence and DUI. In addition, they have volunteers on patrol on mountain bikes and horseback. But they don’t have the in-house expertise for a serious crime investigation, have no problem letting the sheriff’s experts take the lead on such a case.
Malibu City Council Member Laura Rosenthal took the opportunity to remind the audience that there was a $35,000 reward in the Beaudette case, then asked Stern about fire and public safety in the new MRCA campground in Puerco Canyon. It turned out that most of the Malibu contingent at the meeting came to raise questions about Puerco Canyon, since MRCA Officer Walt Young was on the panel. However, Stern didn’t read off any of their questions.
Stern did have an answer for Rosenthal: “It’s unacceptable for the state to acquire more land without the resources necessary to operate and maintain it.”
When Sterns’ office was contacted by The Malibu Times the next day, his chief of staff added, “We’ve been working closely with the community on Puerco. Most of the safety concerns raised have been about fire danger, and we didn’t have anyone from the fire department there to speak to those concerns. We’re currently looking into the feasibility of having a similar community fire meeting.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify that the Malibu Creek State Park campgrounds do not have specific reopen date. It also was edited to clarify there were representatives from five law enforcement agencies in attendance.
