31-year-old charged with murder in Lorenzo apartments shooting


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Police found Alexader Crawford, 31, with a firearm matching the caliber used in the shooting. (Vincent Leo | Daily Trojan file photo)

The Los Angeles County district attorney filed charges Friday in the murder of a security guard at the Lorenzo apartments, an off-campus housing complex for USC students. 

Alexader Crawford, 31, was charged with one count of murder and possession of a firearm by a felon in the killing of Jave Garanganao, the security guard shot and killed at the scene. 

“Mr. Garanganao was just trying to do his job when he was tragically killed,” said District Attorney George Gascón in a press release. “My heart goes out to the victim’s family and friends who have endured such a tremendous loss during the holiday season.”

Garanganao’s loved ones set up a GoFundMe page Thursday to gather money to support his 13-year-old daughter.

The district attorney said Crawford allegedly trespassed at the apartment complex in the early hours of Wednesday. Garanganao asked him to leave and escorted him off the property, at which point Crawford allegedly shot him.

The L.A. Police Department said its officers found Garanganao dead at the scene. 

Officers discovered Crawford — who was in possession of a firearm later determined to match the caliber of the handgun used in the murder — sleeping in a parking lot near the building’s lobby. Crawford was arraigned on Friday.