Timothy Joseph McGhee (born April 27, 1973) is an American convicted serial killer and Toonerville Rifa 13 gang leader from the Atwater Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. He is alleged to be responsible for at least 12 homicides between 1997 and 2001, three of which led to convictions. McGhee is also suspected of at least ten attempted murders, four of which led to convictions. In 2018, the Los Angeles Times named McGhee one of the top 20 most notorious killers in the history of California, a list that included the likes of Charles Manson, the Golden State Killer, and the Night Stalker.
After his arrest for assaulting a law enforcement officer, McGhee spent 1994 to 2000 either incarcerated or on parole. During his stints as a parolee, he allegedly shot seven people, killing three, and attempted to murder two LAPD officers. He was arrested in 2003 on homicide charges and sentenced to death in 2009. In a separate trial in 2007, McGhee was sentenced to 75 years to life for leading a 2005 prison riot. California Governor Gavin Newsom placed a moratorium on executions in the state of California in 2019, so McGhee was transferred from San Quentin's death row to the general population in Salinas Valley State Prison. McGhee is now serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, but current California law allows for his execution if the moratorium is ever lifted. In 2025, McGhee's murder convictions and death penalty sentences were overturned by the California Supreme Court on grounds that a juror was improperly dismissed during deliberations.
Personal life McGhee was raised in the neighborhood of Atwater Village, a lower middle class area of Los Angeles just north of downtown Los Angeles along Interstate 5 adjacent to Glendale, California. His father was a White American of Scottish ancestry, while his mother was Mexican American.
McGhee's early criminal history McGhee's earliest recorded act of violence was a 1989 assault with a firearm when, at the age of 16, he pointed a shotgun at a guard while detained at a juvenile custody facility. In 1994, a 21-year-old McGhee was convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer in San Bernardino County and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was released in 1997 after serving three years.
In 1997, two members of The Rascals, Juan Cardiel and Pedro Sanchez, were allegedly chased through the streets of Atwater Village by McGhee. Cardiel was shot in the back and paralyzed from the waist down. Sanchez took cover at a gas station, standing behind glass he thought was bulletproof. The shooter repeatedly fired through the glass door hitting Sanchez in the back. He would later recover from his injuries. Both identified McGhee as the shooter.
Murder of Ronnie Martin On October 14, 1997, while on parole, it was alleged that a 24-year-old McGhee committed his first homicide. Ronnie Martin (23) was a member of Frog Town, one of TVR's biggest rivals in Atwater Village. Martin was shot 28 times and pronounced dead at the scene. McGhee was not linked to this homicide until years later. After an unrelated charge violated his parole, McGhee was sent back to prison in late 1997.
Parole Violations McGhee was imprisoned for approximately a year and a half for a 1997 parole violation. He was released in 1999, then moving in with his grandmother in the San Gabriel Valley. In February 2000, McGhee was found further violating the terms of his parole and was returned sentenced to prison. He was released again in April 2000, after serving five years on an assault charge that initially carried a four-year sentence.
Recording studio murder On October 17, 1999, while McGhee was on parole, a bodyguard and two rap artists were shot near the gates of Echo Sounds music studio in Atwater Village after concluding a recording session. The crew had gathered on the studio's patio at 11:40 PM when at least two gunmen confronted them and began shooting without warning. Bodyguard Dwayne "Draws" Dupree (23) was killed, pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Dupree was guarding rapper Ricardo "Kurupt" Brown, the future executive vice president of Death Row Records, who was finishing his album Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha with Antra Records.
Kurupt's producer, Delmar "Daz Dillinger" Arnaud, also with Death Row Records and cousin of legendary rapper Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus was present but uninjured. Death Row artist Jevon "Tha Realest" Jones was wounded in the foot, and Willard "Act Da Fool" Givers was wounded in the calf. It was initially suggested that a hidden track on the album that insulted rappers DMX (rapper), The Firm (hip hop group) and others could be a motive for the shooting. Later, McGhee and an affiliate were linked to the shooting.
Murder of Ryan Gonzalez On June 3, 2000, rival gang member Ryan Gonzalez (16) was killed as he walked home from a party. He was fatally shot in the 3300 block of Silver Lake Boulevard in Toonerville gang territory near Atwater Avenue Elementary School. A 27-year-old McGhee was the alleged assailant. Gonzalez was a member of The Rascals gang, sharing McGhee's nickname Huero. Investigators believe McGhee's motive was simply that the neighborhood wasn't big enough for two people with the same street name. In June 2000, an arrest warrant was issued for McGhee in connection with the Gonzalez murder, but it was several years until law enforcement caught up with him.
Ambush of LAPD officers On July 4, 2000, LAPD officers Thomas Baker and Carlos Langarica were on patrol when they received a call around 3:30 AM that three males had stolen a wallet and fled the scene of the robbery in a gray Honda. Upon encountering the vehicle traveling in the opposite direction, the officers made a U-turn and attempted to stop the vehicle. The driver refused to stop and accelerated, both officers noting they were headed into the heart of Toonerville gang territory in Atwater Village. Baker and Langarica later stated that the area was known as an "ambush area", where gang members would block streets with debris and open fire on police vehicles that drove through.
During this pursuit, a 27-year-old McGhee was allegedly using a police radio scanner to track the progress of the chase while coordinating an ambush. The officers reported dodging multiple pieces of debris, including a washing machine blocking the road and a bicycle being pushed into their path by persons unknown. After the officers made a right turn at the corner of Bemis Street and Brunswick Avenue, two gang members opened fire on the officers striking the driver's side door. The gray vehicle was eventually disabled by the officers ramming the rear, at which time the front seat passenger fled on foot while pointing a semi-automatic pistol at officers. When Officer Baker rammed the vehicle again, the remaining two passengers opened fire and both parties exchanged gunfire. All three suspects were apprehended by backup LAPD officers and charged with attempted murder. Mario "Little Boy" Aleman, Ramon "Chubbs" Maldonado, and Joseph "Little Respect" Aghazadeh were sentenced to two consecutive life terms. The two gang members who fired on police during the attempted ambush were never identified, although one of whom was suspected to be McGhee. Neither officer sustained injury, and both officers were awarded the LAPD Medal of Valor in 2003 for their bravery.
Murders of Marty Gregory Roybal and David Lamont Martin On September 14, 2000, John Marshall High School student Marty Gregory Roybal (17) was fatally shot while spray painting in Toonerville territory near the Red Car River Park in Atwater Village. A family member and responding officers mentioned that Roybal enjoyed "tagging" or spray painting. David Lamont Martin (33), who was homeless and likely a witness to the shooting, was also shot and killed at the scene. Twenty-seven-year-old McGhee was suspected in both shootings.
Murder of Manuel Apodaca McGhee had been incarcerated for yet another parole violation involving narcotics, this time at the California Institution for Men in Chino, California, but was released in May 2001. Beginning in June, he was suspected of shooting nine individuals in five months leaving six dead and three wounded. The homicidal spree began on June 11, 2001, when McGhee was allegedly traveling through the affluent Los Feliz area that borders Atwater Village and features the popular Griffith Observatory. Manuel Apodaca Jr. (21) lived 35 miles east in Pomona and was passing through with his pregnant girlfriend, Nina Guerrero. McGhee allegedly opened fire on their vehicle on Los Feliz Boulevard near Interstate 5 known in that area as the Golden State Freeway. Apodaca, allegedly a member of The Rascals (gang), was killed, and Guerrero suffered severe brain damage, but their unborn baby was delivered successfully.
Murder of Carlos Velasco In July 2001, Carlos Velasco (21) was working at a furniture warehouse on North San Fernando Road in Atwater Village. Police state that McGhee, who had driven by and seen the stranger, ordered gang affiliates to kill the man because he did not recognize him. The homicidal order was carried out successfully.
Wisotsky massacre Atwater Village resident Cheri Wisotsky (46) reported to police that McGhee allegedly was dealing drugs out of his sister's house nearby. On August 8, 2001, Wisotsky was murdered, along with two other witnesses to the crime: Cheri's mother, Mary Ann Wisotsky (64) and friend and neighbor Bryham Robinson (38). McGhee is the alleged triggerman in the triple homicide.
Murder of Marjorie Mendoza On November 8, 2001, McGhee was allegedly prowling the streets with fellow gang member Eduardo "Limpy" Rodriguez seeking revenge over the death of a comrade hours earlier. Armed with handguns and rifles, they came upon rival gang member Duane Natividad in the 3100 block of Hollydale Drive, six blocks south of the Gonzalez murder in 2000. Natividad was driving his Mitsubishi Montero with his girlfriend Marjorie Mendoza (25) and her friend Erica Rhee (16). Mendoza and Natividad had three children, Mark (5), Justin (3), and Nathan (1), who were not with them at the time. At 12:01 AM, November 9, as Natividad pulled up to a residence, McGhee and Rodriguez allegedly pulled in front of them, exited their vehicle, and opened fire on the Montero without warning or any verbal altercation. Natividad ducked and was struck in the right hand while Rhee ducked in the back seat, avoiding injury. As her boyfriend threw the car in reverse and accelerated away, Mendoza was hit multiple times and was driven to Glendale Memorial Hospital, where she later died.
Toonerville gang member Eduardo "Limpy" Rodriguez (22) was arrested the following day. Homicide detectives announced on November 27, 2001, that another suspect, Timothy McGhee, was still at large, and a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Detective Timothy Neel noted that since McGhee's release from prison six months before, "violent crimes in the Atwater area have skyrocketed."
Murder of Christina Duran Christina Duran (29), a friend of McGhee's, learned of Marjorie Mendoza's murder after McGhee solicited her help that same day. He needed to retrieve his girlfriend's cellphone, which he had dropped at the scene of the Mendoza murder. Duran was unsuccessful in finding the cellphone, but police managed to locate it and used it as evidence in McGhee's eventual trial. Shortly after the murder, Duran admitted to police during a videotaped interview with LAPD homicide detectives that McGhee was involved in the death of Mendoza. She was visibly shaken during the interrogation, frequently stating her fear of retribution. Two days after speaking with police, Christina Duran was killed in an execution-style murder on the night she celebrated her 29th birthday party, allegedly shot by McGhee five times in the right side of the head.