A quiet morning at a cramped clothing exporter on Pico Boulevard exploded into chaos on May 3, 2024, when seven masked men in body armor and carrying assault rifles allegedly jumped out of a van and opened fire, prosecutors say. By the time it was over, one worker was dead, a cellphone had been abandoned at the scene and what started as a robbery had turned into a sprawling homicide and gang investigation.
According to prosecutors, 38-year-old Eduardo Perez Basurto was hit by rounds that pierced his spine, lung and aorta and later died, and assailants also kicked and beat him as he lay wounded. Investigators say one of the attackers dropped a cellphone during the chaos, and detectives later pulled up Signal messages that pointed to meeting spots, an Airbnb and vehicle movements they linked to the crew. Authorities allege the group included members of MS-13 and an outfit called Money, Power, Respect, according to the Los Angeles Times.
How detectives connected the dots
Detectives say the trail from that phone took them to a Silver Lake Airbnb, where surveillance video captured the suspects before they pulled masks over their faces, and to a Jeep that they say tied one man directly to the scene. An acquaintance quoted by investigators described the suspected shooter, Mohammad Daas, as “a shark.” The Los Angeles Times reports that Daas was later discovered dead in the trunk of a car on Sawtelle Boulevard, and that Signal messages, Airbnb footage and vehicle tracking form the backbone of the case, according to the paper.
Alleged gang ties and charges…