Couple slain in La Verne; search underway for suspect

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were searching Friday for a man suspected of killing a married couple in La Verne.

The incident was reported about 1:20 p.m. inside the couple’s home in the 300 block of Roughrider Road, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities originally said the couple’s daughter made the discovery. But later in the day, a Sheriff’s Department statement said a groundskeeper called the San Dimas Sheriff Station after finding the couple unresponsive inside the home.

A sheriff’s spokeswoman identified the victims as Armie Isom, 89, and his wife, Shirley Isom, 74. The cause of the couple’s death has not been determined, and a motive has not been established.

Authorities said they were searching the area for a man who was seen running eastbound on Roughrider Road wearing a green or orange hoodie with a green or red backpack.

Don Mineer, a neighbor of the Isoms, said he saw a man with a backpack walking on nearby Live Oak Canyon Road about 1:30 p.m. The man was wearing dark clothing and a baseball cap and had his head down, Mineer said.

“At the time I saw him, I didn’t know what was going on, so I didn’t pay much attention,” said Mineer, a retired sewer contractor.

Mineer said the death of the elderly couple had left him and his neighbors shaken. “I got out my sawed-off shotgun and loaded it,” he said. “Don’t know what good it’ll do me now.”

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