2 Fugitives Caught in Separate Murder Cases
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Two men wanted in separate Van Nuys murders were arrested Friday after being traced to a courtroom in San Francisco and a prison in Tehachapi, Los Angeles police said.
John Beck, 23, was charged with the April 1 slaying of Jodie Bartmess, 21, a transient who was stabbed to death in a parking lot in the 16100 block of Hart Street, Detective Jim Vojtecky said.
Beck, who was a transient living in the Van Nuys area at the time of the slaying, was identified as a suspect through witnesses and other undisclosed evidence and arrested at Tehachapi State Prison, Vojtecky said. Bartmess was believed to have been killed during a dispute over drugs, the detective said.