Police Identify Boy Slain in Robbery

A robbery suspect who died after a shootout with a Tujunga storekeeper has been identified as a 16-year-old Altadena boy with a long rap sheet, police said Thursday.

Louis Manuel Chavez allegedly attempted to rob Canyon Market with an accomplice Monday night, but the store owner drew a handgun and shots were exchanged, said Det. Miles Taylor of LAPD’s Foothill Division.

Chavez died of multiple gunshot wounds, said Scott Carrier, a spokesman for the coroner’s office.

The store owner, Ralph Gambina, who was wounded, was physically “feeling better” Thursday at an area hospital, said his wife, Leslie.

But emotionally, “my husband is very devastated” over the teenager’s death, she said. “We have boys 15, 17 years old.”

Chavez had an extensive arrest record, Taylor said. The accomplice remains at large.

Police are asking anyone with more information about the incident to call Foothill Division detectives at (818) 834-3115 or after hours at (818) 756-8861.