Victim’s Ex-Roommate Charged With Murder

VAN NUYS — Criminal charges have been filed against a Los Angeles man in connection with the shooting death of a 69-year-old Sherman Oaks man in February, police said Friday.

Elmer Mendoza, 24, was charged with murder, using a gun during the commission of a felony and grand theft auto, police said.

The body of William Struve was found by a neighbor on Feb. 23, lying on his bed in his apartment after he had not been seen for two days, police said. Struve was last seen Feb. 21 walking around the apartment complex in the 4900 block of Hazeltine Avenue where he had lived for several years, police said.

Mendoza had moved in with Struve a week before the murder, said Det. Stephen Fisk of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Division. Police said the two men had an argument that led to the shooting.

The victim’s Cadillac was found stolen and abandoned in Hollywood one mile from an apartment where Mendoza was staying with a friend, police said. Mendoza was arrested Tuesday in Hollywood.