Latest news with #ErickEscamilla
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Family of man murdered in Valley Village apartment suing landlords for negligent management
The Brief Erick Escamilla has been arrested for allegedly murdering Menashe "Manny" Hidra in his Valley Village apartment. Police said Escamilla broke into a vacant unit in the building through a skylight, then broke into Hidra's apartment through the balcony. Hidra's family is now suing the management company of the apartment complex. LOS ANGELES - The family of the man murdered in his Valley Village apartment last month is now suing the management company that owns the complex, saying residents have warned management multiple times about security issues with people roaming the building. What we know Menashe "Manny" Hidra was killed on April 23 in his apartment at the Ashton Sherman Village. The day Hidra was killed, the Los Angeles Police Department said that officers were called out to the building, but didn't find any evidence of a crime, so they left. Three days later, they discovered Hidra's body during a welfare check. At a press conference Friday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said he couldn't comment on the case, but said the department has "initiated an internal administrative investigation" into why Hidra's murder wasn't discovered until days later. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man killed inside his apartment in Valley Village in apparent random attack On Thursday, police arrested 27-year-old Erick Escamilla for Hidra's murder. Officials said they believe Escamilla broke into a vacant unit in the building through a skylight on the roof. Then, he allegedly hopped from balcony to balcony, got into Hidra's apartment through a sliding glass door, and killed him. Dig deeper Residents at the complex tell FOX 11 that they've been warning the management company for years about unauthorized people, including the homeless, roaming the building. Those complaints continue today. SUGGESTED: Valley Village apartment murder suspect arrested after days-long search LAPD officers responded to the complex on Friday morning, after reports that another intruder was inside. What they're saying Haifa Nesheiwat lives in the complex, and said she heard people walking around on the roof of her building on Friday morning. Residents' repeated complaints and warnings are why Hidra's family is suing the management company that owns the apartment complex for negligent management. Steve Vartazarian, who is representing the family, said Escamilla is "exactly the kind of people that these tenants were complaining about." "Complaining about things like transients roaming the hallways, here in the parking garage, in the pool area, on top of the roof — which they should never have access to — and this management company, they knew about it," Vartazarian said. "The building owners, they knew about it, and all of those complaints just happened to fall on deaf ears." What we don't know FOX 11 has repeatedly reached out to the company that owns the apartment complex, going back to when Hidra's body was first found, and has not heard back. The Source Information in this story is from Los Angeles Police Department press releases, a press conference with LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, an interview with attorney Steve Vartazarian and previous FOX 11 reports.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Suspect in grisly murder at upscale Los Angeles apartment complex in custody
A man has been arrested in connection with a grisly murder inside an upscale apartment complex in Valley Village, according to media reports. The suspect, according to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, has been identified as Erick Escamilla. The 27-year-old was reportedly taken into custody at a West Hills hospital. The victim, 53-year-old Menashe 'Manny' Hidra was found dead inside his apartment on April 26, but only after a concerned friend, who said Manny had been home sick with COVID, called police for a welfare check. Three days before the unsettling and tragic discovery, one resident who lives near the murder scene told KTLA that around 3 a.m. on April 23, he heard screams and someone yelling for help. 'I just woke up to some loud noises, something crashing,' he told KTLA. 'There was screaming, and I called our security and, also, right after that, I called the police.' The resident, like many others in the building, did not want his name shared. Even more chilling is home security footage obtained by KTLA that showed Escamilla stalking the building's hallways just before 3 a.m. In the footage, he's seen going door to door, attempting to force his way into several units. Residents said it appears that whoever committed the murder entered an empty fifth-floor apartment and then climbed from that balcony to the victim's balcony. Mother of toddler abandoned at sheriff's station in Southern California located Photos of the building's bloodstained exterior between the two balconies bolster those claims, as well as a photo of a bloodstained door handle leading to an exit stairwell where the killer may have fled after the murder. While police have been tight-lipped about the details of the homicide, investigators said a suspect illegally entered the 53-year-old's apartment where a struggle ensued that left the victim dead. Management's response to the harrowing incident has left some residents of the high-end complex furious and frustrated. Many of them said they've complained about security issues that predated the killing and that even after the murder, there were additional break-ins. Escamilla's arrest comes just short of two weeks since Hidra's body was discovered, leaving residents in the building terrified that the suspect was still on the loose. Police had reportedly been tracking the 27-year-old, narrowly missing him last week, The Times reported. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
