Royal Palms Shooting Suspect Captured, Faces a Slew of Charges

On March 22, Los Angeles District 15 Councilmember, Tim McOsker, and Supervisor Janice Hahn held a press conference at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Division announcing the arrest of Jose Ortega in the Royal Palms shooting two weeks ago. 

Ortega, 22, is alleged to be affiliated with the Rancho San Pedro gang and has a lengthy arrest record. According to the LAPD, the shooting took place on a Saturday, March 4 at about 5:45 p.m., when several groups of individuals were gathered at Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro. Two of these groups got into a verbal and physical altercation that led to a shooting in which five individuals were struck by gunfire. Multiple people fled the area, and numerous calls to 911 were generated.

A gun, believed to have been used in the shooting, was found at the scene of the shooting. 

Ortega was caught because he was the fifth shooting victim after apparently getting shot following a struggle over the gun.  The charges he’s facing seem to bear this since he has been charged with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, four counts of attempted murder, and one count of maliciously discharging a firearm. 

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Ortega is being held without bail.

Following the shooting, Los Angeles City Councilman Tim McOsker and LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn announced that the beach would close at 4:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays until further notice.

The beach will continue to close at dusk Mondays through Thursdays, and all closing times also apply to the beach parking lot. Hahn and McOsker said there have been previous concerning altercations at the beach.

“We need to balance preserving access to this beach with the demands of public safety,” Hahn said in a statement announcing the earlier closing times. “This shooting was an escalation of a series of problems we have had at Royal Palms. Closing the beach early on weekends is going to help us prevent another tragedy while we work with law enforcement on a long-term strategy.”

The shooting occurred just hours after a police gun buyback event in the San Pedro area. Interestingly enough, Ortega was also charged with three counts of attempted carjacking and one carjacking, proving that even criminals follow the adage, “If once you don’t succeed, you should try and try again.”