The man charged with the murder of a musician whose body was found last summer inside a barrel at Malibu Lagoon State Beach has been charged with a second murder, committed a year ago in Inglewood, police say.
Joshua Lee Simmons has been charged with the shooting death of Anthony Soloc, 50, on Jan. 20 at a home in the 2300 block of West 79th Street. Inglewood police officers found Soloc's body in front of the home with a single gunshot wound to the head. Neighbors reported hearing a gunshot around 5:00 a.m.
Los Angeles County sheriff's detectives arrested Simmons in October after tying him to the body recovered from the Malibu lagoon. Simmons was charged with the murder of Javonnta Murphy, who was fatally shot before her body was placed inside a 55-gallon plastic drum and dumped in the lagoon.
Prosecutors allege Simmons shot Murphy, 32, on July 27, three days before a maintenance worker spotted the cannon in a shallow cove. The worker paddled a kayak and pulled the container to shore, but did not open it. The next day, a lifeguard saw the barrel in the lagoon, swam and took it to the beach, where he opened it and discovered the body.
Prosecutors allege that an accomplice, Dennis Eugene Vance, helped cover up Murphy's shooting death and have charged him with accessory after the fact.
Joshua Lee Simmons, one of two men arrested in connection with the murder of a man whose body was found last summer on Malibu Lagoon State Beach, has been charged with a second murder.
(El Monte Police Department)
Simmons is also accused of making criminal threats against Brandon Gray on the same day he is accused of killing Murphy. Gray was detained at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station on October 5, but was not charged.
Simmons is also a suspect in an attempted robbery on September 2 at Meza Jewelry in El Monte that was foiled by the store owner and members of his family. Surveillance cameras captured the robbery suspect around 2 p.m. walking down Main Street dressed in black, wearing a mask and carrying a cardboard box. Authorities say Simmons used a hammer to break open display cases and sprayed bear repellent on workers.
Detectives seeking to arrest him circulated video identifying Simmons as the suspect just days after the attempted robbery.
Simmons and Vance were arrested on October 3. Two days later, Simmons was charged with Murphy's murder, criminal threats against Gray, the attempted robbery of the jewelry store, and two counts of criminal threats against the store owner.
Simmons is due in court Friday to be arraigned on the new murder charge. He is being held on bail of nearly $3.28 million at the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail. Vance, who has been released on $50,000 bail, will also appear that day.
Court records show Simmons has a history of violent crimes, including a 2019 conviction for assault with a deadly weapon in connection with a 2013 crime.
Murphy grew up in South Los Angeles and was living in Sylmar at the time he was killed, according to authorities and family friend Patrick Nelson. He was pursuing a career in rap music and had a young son.
“He was a good boy, a good person. He didn't gangbang. What happened to him, I just don't understand,” Nelson said.
