California Mayor Shot by Wife, Likely Self Defense

Daniel Crespo, the 45-year-old mayor of Bell Gardens, California, was shot Tuesday afternoon by his wife, 43-year-old Lyvette Crespo, in what appears to be a possible case of self-defense or defense of another that occurred during a domestic dispute. The incident that occurred in their home resulted in several injuries to both his wife and son, as well as the mayor’s death.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the California mayor was arguing with his wife in what the authorities have listed as a domestic dispute. It appears that the altercation may have turned violent, causing Crespo’s 19-year-old son to attempt to intervene in the altercation. The violence escalated, according to reports from the Los Angeles Times. The fight between the mayor and his son turned physical, at which point his wife, Lyvette Crespo, went for a handgun that was in the house and began to fire at him.

Several shots were fired, hitting the upper region of the mayor’s body. Emergency responders arrived on the scene, but Crespo died from his injuries en route to the hospital just moments later. The California mayor was killed around 2:30 p.m. local time. According to a report from the National Post, his wife, Lyvette Crespo, sustained facial injuries and his son, Daniel Crespo, Jr., required medical treatment for his numerous injuries sustained during the confrontation.

Lyvette Crespo and Daniel Crespo, Jr. were both questioned by police following the incident, but his wife has since been released, and at this time, no charges have been filed in what appears to be a possible case of self-defense or defense of another. However, authorities did say that all information would be given to the District Attorney for review.

The California mayor was a native of Brooklyn, New York. He moved to the small California town of Bell Gardens in the 1980s, where he became a corrections officer for a number of years and married in 1986. In 1999, Daniel Crespo was elected to the city’s Planning Commission, and then, two years later, he was elected to the City Council of Bay Gardens.

The ambitious California mayor took office last year and governed one of the very few towns in L.A. County which allow legalized gambling in casinos. Only four others out of the county’s 88 towns also allow casinos to operate.

Area lawmakers have weighed in to express their condolences for the city’s loss and spoke of the work he had done for the city, although not everyone was happy with the work that Crespo and the other members of the City Council were doing.

Last year, Mayor Crespo and other members of the council had to cancel a public meeting due to security concerns after they received a number of threats in social media, according to the L.A. Times.

[Images: Police secure scene – Biography Photo]