Joseph Cosina, 19

Died Jan. 4, 2008 at 2:30 a.m.

Joseph Cosina, 19, a young Latino man, was shot in the parking lot of a nightclub at 1024 S. Grand Ave. in downtown Los Angeles at 1:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 4. He was taken to California Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:30 a.m.  Police officials said an argument over a woman being stabbed in the arm escalated in the parking lot of the Crash Mansion club. Shots were fired and Cosina was hit in the heart. Two other men were also wounded. Both men and the woman were taken to the same hospital and were expected to recover.

Cosina, a graduate of Downey High School, was attending Cerritos Community College, studying business administration. Los Angeles Times story by Sam Quinones and Susannah Rosenblatt.

Update: Two Latino men were arrested within 28 hours of this homicide. Raul Urias, 19, the suspected shooter, faces murder charges; Ricardo Lamas, also 19, the suspected driver, faces an accessory count. LAPD Det. Doug Pierce said investigators believe Lamas lost a fight inside the club, and his friend Urias arrived to back him up. Urias allegedly fired at Cosina perhaps because he thought Cosina was part of the group Lamas had been fighting; he wasn't.