by Dan Blackburn
Surveillance video captured the fatal beating July 3 of Hermosa Beach resident Jeffery Roderick Woods, and provided evidence which helped investigators identify the now-jailed murder suspect, a sheriff’s official confirmed this week.
Woods, 50, was involved in what Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Hugo Reynaga described as “an altercation” shortly after midnight in front of “a closed business” near the intersection of Hermosa Avenue and 16th Street.
Existence of the video was disclosed by Hermosa Beach Police Chief Paul LeBaron during a Zoom briefing he delivered to Chamber of Commerce members on Tuesday, . Following his update on the Woods murder, LeBaron paused before suggesting that business owners “maintain and update” their security cameras, because video can “be helpful” in criminal investigations.
The video, which detectives are not releasing, reportedly shows Woods staggered a short distance after the attack before collapsing against a block wall.
“It happened in front of the business, and (Woods) seemed to walk away from the incident and then kind of propped himself up against a short wall,” said Reynaga. “I guess he passed out there.” Woods lay unconscious for more than three hours before a passerby notified authorities.
The ongoing investigation resulted in homicide charges being filed Oct. 13, and a warrant for Joshua Dirnu’s arrest was issued, according to a sheriff’s department statement. Earlier this month, officers of the Carlsbad Police Department arrested Dirnu, 23. He was taken into custody without incident, and remains in jail awaiting trial.
Reynaga said it appeared Dirnu “was trying to evade” law enforcement at the time of his arrest. ER
