Three men await extradition to California from three states following their arrests in connection with a Los Angeles triple homicide earlier this year, the city's authorities announced Friday.
The three women were killed in the affluent Beverly Crest neighborhood near Beverly Hills on January 28 "were not the intended targets," Los Angeles Police Department Capt. Jonathan Tippet said at a news conference.
A group of people were renting a house in the area while visiting the city to support a Chicago rapper. After returning from bowling, they were targeted in an "ambush-style attack during which more than 30 rounds were fired," authorities said.
Four people were shot and injured, while two others were not hurt, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The murder victims -- Iyana Hutton, 33; Destiny Sims, 26; and Nenah Davis, 29 -- were from Chicago. The suspects, also from Chicago, are connected to a gang, according to police.
The suspects live close to the area where the victims were from, authorities said.
"We can't discuss the motive, but we can say that it's associated with Chicago," Tippet said. He described the shooting, in which the three victims were slain in a vehicle, as "callous and violent."
The cross-country investigation led authorities to the three suspects. Authorities arrested Dejean Thompkins, 28, in Chicago; Dontae Williams, 22, in Gary, Indiana; and Daries Stanford, 28, in New York, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
They each face three counts of murder, six counts of attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
Thompkins also faces an additional count of murder stemming from a December murder in North Hollywood, the DA's office said in a statement.
The LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division discovered the connection between the December and January murders during their investigation, Tippet said.
"In both of these cases, the suspects used ambush-style tactics on their unsuspecting victims," he said. "Planning and coordination was utilized to carry out these murderous attacks."
