Homicide detectives today asked the public to be on the lookout for a suspect they believe might be linked to the shocking Silver Lake murder of Joseph Gatto, the father of local state Assemblyman Mike Gatto.

See also: Assemblyman Mike Gatto's Father Murdered in Silver Lake.

A detective told LA Weekly today that elite Homicide Special Section investigators believe a man who brandished a gun in the same neighborhood the night before the murder might be connected to the Gatto case:

On Nov. 12 about 6:50 p.m. a neighbor saw a suspect breaking into a car in the 2300 block of Moreno Drive, which is just around the corner from the murder scene on Bright Lane, the LAPD said in a statement:

When she confronted the suspect, he pointed a gun and threatened to kill her. Another witness confronted the suspect at which point he repeated the threat. The suspect then fled on foot down public stairs on Tesla Avenue. This suspect may be connected to a homicide that occurred on the 2800 block of Bright Lane.

The detective we spoke to said cops were not yet positive this suspect was their man in the Gatto case, but he said “we always just want to find out more.”


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Neighbors have been abuzz with sightings of suspicious people since the Nov. 13 homicide. Joseph Gatto, 78, was reported to have been found slumped over a desk at his longtime residence in an area of Silver Lake comprised of million-dollar-plus homes.

Earlier today we contacted a LAPD Northeast Division property crime detective about the sightings, but he couldn't confirm that police were following any particular leads about strangers in the neighborhood in the wake of the crime.

The gunman appeared to be a white man in his early 20s, 5 feet, 9 inches, 180 pounds, police said. He was wearing a multicolored hoodie and tan pants and carried a tan backpack, according to the LAPD.

Know who it might be? Call detectives at 213-486-6890.

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