A Valentine’s night shooting left one man dead and another injured at Mar Vista Gardens, a public housing project just outside the Culver City border.
Police investigated the shooting at the housing complex in Del Rey, which has seen a reduction in crime over the last several years due in part to the complex’s aero crime police and an increased police presence by Pacific Division officers of the Los Angeles Police Department. But the housing complex has recently seen a slight uptick in crime.
Calvin Johnson, 50, of Paramount was pronounced dead at the scene on Feb. 14 from gunshot wounds at approximately 11 p.m. near the 4800 block of Marionwood Drive., police said.
An unidentified man was also shot and transported to a local hospital, where he is expected to survive.
Mar Vista Gardens is located at 11965 Allin Street and borders Ballona Creek. The housing complex is operated by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles and is made up of 62 buildings and 601 apartments. The housing project also provides athletic fields such as handball courts, a gymnasium and a community center, which has a part-time health clinic is located inside.
The Mar Vista Gardens was home to the Westside gang the Culver City Boyz during the 1970s and 80s. However, by By 2003, many Culver City Boyz had been expelled from the public housing due to stricter residency rules.
Last year, Michael Anthony Mariscal, who prosecutors say is a member of the Culver City Boyz, was sentenced to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of two unarmed teens in a Venice park in 2011.
LAPD Officer Norma Eiseman said police investigators have not determined a motive for the shooting and do not know if they are gang-related. The case remains under investigation.