Even after a gruesome unsolved murder in an upscale Valley Village apartment complex last month, tenants continue to see what appears to be transients roaming the halls of their building.
On April 26, the body of 53-year-old Menash “Manny” Hidra was found inside his fifth-floor unit, the top story of the Ashton Sherman Village Apartments in the 126000 block of Riverside Drive.
Three days before the unsettling and tragic discovery, one resident who lives near the murder scene told KTLA that around 3 a.m. on April 23, he heard screams and someone yelling for help.
“I just woke up to some loud noises, something crashing,” he told KTLA. “There was screaming, and I called our security and, also, right after that, I called the police.”
That resident, like many others building tenants, did not want his name shared.
Doorbell camera footage obtained by KTLA and, later, released by detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department, showed a man, who police say is a suspect in the murder, roaming the halls of the building just before 3 a.m. and attempting to get into apartments.
LAPD has been tight-lipped about the details of the murder, only saying in a news release that a “suspect unlawfully entered the victim’s apartment and a physical altercation ensued, which resulted in the victim’s death.”
In the latest security footage obtained by KTLA, a man with a bicycle who does not live in the apartments, according to residents, is seen roaming the halls of the Ashton complex’s second building as recently as Tuesday morning, May 6.
In video captured at 3:41 a.m., the man, wearing a red sweater cap, is seen walking into one of the stairwell exits with his bike. Six minutes later, he’s again seen with his bike roaming the halls on a different resident’s camera.
On April 30, just four days after the 53-year-old’s body was found, surveillance footage shows another man, who residents say is not a tenant, with a trash bag slung over his shoulder inside the second building.
On edge about building security, Ashton residents have repeatedly complained that management failed to address many issues that predate the grisly murder.
In the wake of the homicide, many feel that they’ve done little, outside of hiring “courtesy patrols,” to fix broken exterior doors and issues of transients getting on the roof.
Portions of the building, which is currently getting a paint job, now have scaffolding in front of it, which one resident who did not want to be identified referred to as a “a real life ’Chutes and Ladders’ for anyone wanting to access the building.”
KTLA has repeatedly reached out to management at the Ashton Sherman Village Apartments for comment, though, so far, have not received any response.
Anyone who recognizes the suspect wanted in connection with the murder on or who has information about the investigation is urged to contact LAPD’s Valley Bureau at 818-374-9559. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.
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