Los Angeles police detectives on Friday continued to chase clues in two slayings at separate marijuana dispensaries that occurred within hours of each other Thursday.
Although it is early in the investigations, significant differences at the two crime scenes have led authorities to believe that the killings are not related, said two senior LAPD officials involved in the cases, who requested their names not be used because of the sensitivity of the ongoing inquiries.
The first incident occurred around 4:15 p.m. on Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park at Higher Path Holistic Care. Four suspects are thought to have entered the dispensary and at gunpoint ordered the two employees to lie face-down on the ground as the suspects ransacked the facility for marijuana and money, the police sources said.
Although the two workers did not resist, the attackers shot them, killing one and critically wounding the other, according to the police sources. They said the account of the shooting came from the surviving victim, who has been able to speak with detectives from his hospital bed.
Before fleeing, the suspects removed the videotape from the facility's surveillance system, according to the police officials.
The slain man was 27-year-old Matt Butcher, the son of Julie Butcher, a well-known L.A. labor leader. Butcher’s mother described the killing as “totally senseless,” saying her son was simply trying to cobble together part-time jobs in a tough economy.
“He was one of the most peaceful people,” said Julie Butcher, who works as a regional director of the Service Employees International Union Local 721. “He would have given them anything they wanted. There’s no reason for anyone to die over marijuana”.
About five hours after the shooting and a few miles away, the owner of the Hollywood Holistic II dispensary in the 1600 block of North El Centro Avenue walked into the store to find the body of his employee. The man, whom police have not yet publicly identified, had suffered stab wounds, the police sources said, although detectives are awaiting the results of the coroner’s initial investigation to determine whether he died from the stabbing or some other trauma.
