Police ID Man Shot to Death near Victory and Ventura Boulevards

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA - Authorities Thursday identified the 39-year-old man who was found shot to death in the Valley Glen section of the San Fernando Valley.

The gunfire was initially reported around midnight Wednesday at Victory and Ventura boulevards but responding officers did not find any evidence of a shooting at that scene and were told the shots came from a vehicle, according to Officer Liliana Preciado of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Division.

Witnesses told police they saw two SUVs in a parking lot and heard arguing and gunfire before the vehicles drove off, police said.

Officers responded to a second call around 12:45 a.m. about a man down in the 13600 block of Sylvan Street, near Victory Boulevard, about a block away from the original location, said Sgt. Steve Gottschalk of the LAPD's Van Nuys Station.

Arriving officers found the man, identified by the county coroner's office as Felix Melkumov of Valley Village near North Hollywood, suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest, Gottschalk said.

Los Angeles Fire Department personnel pronounced Melkumov dead at the scene.

"There was a blood trail from the area of the initial shooting to where the victim was discovered," according to a police statement.

Preciado said a gun was found next to Melkumov but the investigation determined the wound was not self-inflicted.

Valley Bureau Homicide detectives are conducting an investigation. Suspect and vehicle descriptions were not immediately available.

Anyone with information about the killing was urged to contact LAPD Detective Steve Castro at (818) 374-1925. After-hours and weekend calls should be directed to (877) LAPD-24-7. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers by calling (800) 222-TIPS and online tips may be placed at www.lapdonline.org.

City News Service