'El Mago,' drug trafficker with ties to El Chapo's son and Sinaloa cartel, shot dead in California
LOS ANGELES -- An associate of the Sinaloa cartel who worked for the son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was one of two men who were shot and killed in an industrial area in Southern California last week, our sister station, ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angeles, has learned.
Eduardo Escobedo, 39, was found dead Thursday morning in the Willowbrook area following a shooting, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
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The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's office identified the second man gunned down as Guillermo De Los Angeles Jr., 47. Another man survived the shooting and was treated at a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.
Escobedo, a convicted drug trafficker nicknamed "El Mago," which translates to "The Magician," was the primary local marijuana distributor for Guzman's oldest son, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, the Los Angeles Times reported.
He was released from prison in 2018 after serving nearly five years for drug distribution and money laundering.
Deputies and firefighter-paramedics arrived to the scene Thanksgiving morning after the shooting was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. Two men were lying dead in the parking area of a property consisting of warehouses and other commercial facilities.
"We have no motive at this time. It appears that there was some type of gathering or party at the location from last night to early this morning," sheriff's Lt. Omar Camacho told Eyewitness News Thursday at the scene.
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Video from AIR7 HD showed investigators examining a black sedan that was near the bodies with its front doors open. Forty-foot shipping containers, semitrucks and a forklift were parked nearby.
A business owner from a nearby building told Eyewitness News that the facility where the deadly shooting happened was rented out for parties.
No arrests have been announced.
