DOWNEY : Man Kills Friend, Self in Argument Over Wife

A 26-year-old Downey man, apparently suspicious that his wife was having an affair, gunned down a friend Tuesday night, then took his own life, investigators said.

Ricky Lawrence La Rue shot Anthony Fuentes, 29, nine times with a semiautomatic handgun after an argument in La Rue’s front yard involving the two men and La Rue’s wife, Kimberly, 22. Then La Rue apparently turned the gun on himself, said Downey Police Detective Gary Morrow.

All three worked at Modern Equipment Systems, a South Gate company that manufactures sheet metal, police said.

Before the shooting, La Rue telephoned Fuentes, also of Downey, to confront him about his suspicions, detectives said. La Rue and his wife were arguing when Fuentes showed up at their home in the 9200 block of Guatemala Avenue. Neighbors called police at 6:42 p.m. to report the argument. Officers arrived moments later to find Fuentes dead and La Rue with a gunshot wound to the head. He died about an hour later at Downey Community Hospital.