MTV Producer Gabriel Ben-Meir Killed: Two Suspects Held
May 12, 2011 — -- A man and a woman are being held on suspicion of murder in the shotgun deaths of an MTV producer early Sunday morning and another man a week earlier.
Jabaar Vincent Thomas and Destiny Young were arrested Wednesday evening in connection with the killings of MTV music coordinator Gabriel Ben-Meir, 30, outside his home in Los Angeles' Mid-Wilshire district, and a second man in a separate incident, Det. Gus Villanueva, a Los Angeles police spokesman, told ABCNews.com Thursday.
The second victim, Marcello Aragon, 35, was shot multiple times with a shotgun on April 30 in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles, ABC News Los Angeles affiliate KABC reported.
Thomas, 26, and Young, 29, likely will be charged with murder on Friday, Villanueva said.
Their arrests at 9 p.m. PT Wednesday were related to the arrest at 8 p.m. Wednesday of Richard Anderson, 33, in connection with a string of shotgun robberies, Villanueva added, though he would not reveal the nature of the relationship between the two cases.
Ben-Meir's wallet was missing, raising the possibility he was killed during a robbery, KABC reported. Police would not confirm the missing wallet to ABCNews.com.
Ben-Meir, who coordinated music for MTV shows including Ashton Kutcher's "Punk'd," was found face down, shot at least once in the back of the head, on the sidewalk outside his home early Sunday morning by a neighbor.
He had parked his BMW outside his apartment building and was shot just feet from his front door, police said.
The Los Angeles Police Department will reveal more about the case at a news conference Friday at 3:15 p.m., Villanueva said.
Thomas and Anderson were being held without bail at the 77th Regional Jail in Los Angeles, Villanueva said. Young was being held at the same location on $1 million bail.
