Homicide Report > Preston Brumfield, 49
Preston Brumfield, 49
Died May 16, 2008 at 11:18 a.m.
Preston Wayne Brumfield, a 49-year-old black man, was found unconscious in a pool of blood on the sidewalk at 1948 20th Street in Santa Monica at about 11:30 p.m. on May 11 and was pronounced dead at a local hospital four days later, at 11:18 a.m. May 16. Coroner's investigators said initially that his injuries were consistent with an assault, and that he may have been hit with a baseball bat, but further investigation is pending to determine the cause of death. A passerby made the 911 call. Brumfield lived a few doors down from where he was found.—Jill Leovy
- Neighborhood: Santa Monica
- Age: 49
- Gender: Male
- Cause: Blunt force
- Day of the week: Friday
- Agency: Santa Monica PD
- Race/Ethnicity: Black
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Four reader comments about Preston Brumfield
There have been multiple arrests in this murder.
From the SMPD: "After an intensive investigation, which lasted over a year, and incorporated an undercover drug sting and a court-authorized wiretap of suspected gang members’ telephones, three Santa Monica men have been arrested, and a fourth man is being sought, for the 2008 slaying of Santa Monica resident, Preston Brumfield. Sammy Murphy, 50; Gwindon Love Murphy, 65; and Jason Anthony Hurtado, 26, have all been charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney with murder."
The press release goes on to say: "The Santa Monica Police Department’s subsequent investigation of Brumfield’s homicide revealed the involvement of possible members of a local street gang calling itself the “Graveyard Crips.”...An undercover narcotics investigation dubbed “Operation Tombstone” was initiated in 2009 based on communications intercepted during the wiretap investigation that identified suspected members of the “Graveyard Crips” as local drug dealers."
What is not mentioned is what Preston Brumfield's connection to the Graveyard Crips might have been. Did he know them? Do business with them? Or did he just live in their neighborhood? We can only speculate as far as motive for this murder goes but it seems like the SMPD did a thorough job investigating.
July 10, 2010 at 10:11 p.m.
Hopefully the authorities can remove a lot of these sociopathic (socio-pathetic?) gangsters out of society.
July 11, 2010 at 1:03 p.m.
poor man
May 17, 2011 at 9:01 a.m.
Hey JB,
Mr. Brumfield did not associate with gangs. He was an innocent man that was killed by thugs without provocation.
Get a life.
April 28, 2012 at 6:22 p.m.
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