A former Citrus College student is one of four charged with a robbery, kidnapping and murder in Azusa on May 31. KCal 9 Los Angeles reported that the victim, Julian Hamori-Andrade, was the father of a 9-month-old child and had a second on the way.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s complaint alleges special circumstances including “lying in wait” and murder during a kidnapping and robbery.
One of the accused, Francisco Amigon, enrolled at Citrus in spring 2017. Dean of Admissions and Records Gerald Sequeira confirmed Amigon attended for one semester, played no sport at Citrus and did not receive any awards.
Another suspect is missing, Matthew Luzon, 21, of Azusa. In the complaint, Luzon is accused of beating the victim with a rock and a broken glass pipe. He was a close friend of another Citrus student, Joshua Romero.
Romero, who is studying business administration, said he was a lifelong friend of the fugitive suspect, Luzon. They went to middle school and Charter Oak High School together.
Romero said he was also acquainted with another murder suspect, Hercules Baskalas, who was in his circle of friends.
L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputy Trina Schrader said in a statement that the suspects first attacked the victim at the residence of Matthew Luzon, in the 6100 block of Goodway Drive of Azusa — less than 2 miles from campus.
Officers at the San Dimas station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded to a disturbance call by another tenant at the Azusa address on May 28, the
statement said.
Romero said he spent the night at Luzon’s rented room on April 21, just over a month before Hamori-Andrade’s deadly beating there.
Romero showed a video he took of Luzon on the evening he stayed with him.
Romero said the Luzon admitted to him that he identified with the Crips gang.
In the video, Luzon can be heard saying, “This is a f—— barrio Crip gang, eh fool.” Romero explained why he thought Luzon would be attracted to gangs.
“We both got picked on a lot, but as the years progressed, I guess we kind of toughened up,” Romero said. “He went way extreme about it — gangs and getting into fights. I’m his close friend, he would talk about it a lot. Even my dad had to drop him off at the courthouse once for a case.”
Crips are not one of the several known gangs in Azusa.
“There are a lot of subgangs local to the area,” Romero said. “Some people make their own little cliques and get gangs going.”
The charges against the four suspects carry the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Investigators have not reported in their public statements a motive for the crimes.
Romero said Luzon frequently got into fights.
“Oh yeah,” Romero said. “It was anytime someone tried to disrespect him. He always felt like he had something to prove. It’s kind of like an insecure, thing. It seemed likely that it was heading in that direction. He’s impulsive; he doesn’t think straight.”
Hamori-Andrade’s body was discovered by the Los Angeles County Sheriff on a hillside of Azusa Canyon at 5:55 p.m. May 30.
Campus Safety confirmed a sheriff’s helicopter circling over the Citrus College campus 3 p.m. May 29, searched the San Gabriel Forest for the missing body of Hamori-Andrade.
Citrus College Campus Safety Chief Officer Todd Dickson said the sheriff’s helicopter over campus was unrelated to the strong-arm robbery that occurred on campus about two hours earlier that same day.
Amigon’s public Facebook profile photo displays him with a glass bong and flipping off the camera. Other photos show the 19-year-old holding up gang related hand signs including one associated with the Crips gang.
Amigon’s Facebook friends list another suspect, Jacob Elmendorf, 19 years old, and resident of La Verne. Hercules Balaskas, 19-year-old resident of Glendora, was the fourth suspect charged by the district attorney’s office. Balaskas is accused in the complaint of using a metal chair as a deadly weapon.
Schrader’s statement said the victim may have been alive when he was driven up San Gabriel Canyon Road “where his body was thrown over the side of the road.”
In the statement, Schrader thanked a witness who called the police after noticing the suspect’s vehicle in Azusa Canyon.
“This case remains a very active investigation no further information is available for release at this time,” Schrader said in the statement posted on the L.A. County Sheriff’s website.
Romero said he doesn’t feel bad for his friend Luzon, who is a fugitive. “It just sucks because he was a cool guy,” Romero said. “He was goofy. He had a sense of humor.”
Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender Roger Whitenhall is currently assigned to the case.
He could not be reached for comment.
Amigon, Balaskas and Elmendorf are scheduled to be arraigned on June 6 in Department N of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Pomona Branch.
