Police arrest alleged gunman who shot at driver that crashed into East Hollywood crowd

By Dean Fioresi

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    LOS ANGELES, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Police have arrested the alleged gunman who they say opened fire on the suspect who drove his car into a crowd outside of an East Hollywood club two weeks ago.

After an extensive search that began on July 20, Los Angeles police announced that 38-year-old Efrain Villalobos was arrested on Sunday afternoon in Redondo Beach. They did not provide further details on his arrest, but said that his case would be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing in coming days.

Villalobos was wanted for opening fire on 29-year-old Orange County man Fernando Ramirez moments after he drove his car into a large crowd gathered outside of the Vermont Hollywood, which is located near the intersection of Vermont Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard.

Some of the people in the crowd pulled Ramirez from the car and began to attack him, at which point investigators allege Villalobos produced a gun and fired at Ramirez.

Ramirez was wounded in the shooting after suffering a gunshot wound to the buttocks. He was hospitalized then arrested and has since been charged with 74 criminal charges for the crash, which left more than three dozen people injured. He remains behind bars since his arrest and is being held in lieu of $37 million bail.

LAPD detectives had just recently identified Villalobos as the alleged shooter last week.

“Villalobos is facing serious felony charges in connection with the shooting of the driver and should be considered armed and dangerous,” police said in a news release on Friday.

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