NEIGHBORS' DISPUTE TURNS DEADLY 2ND VALLEY HOMICIDE IN 3 MONTHS LINKED TO PARKING.

Byline: SUSAN ABRAM Staff Writer

ARLETA -- Filimon Ramos neatly cut the front lawn of his Woodale Avenue home, kept the white iron fence around his property rust-free and always trimmed his apple tree.

Alvaro Williamson lived in a housing development behind Ramos, where Filmore Street ends. Police said he was a man with an angry streak who didn't like children playing basketball in the street or adults parking their cars along the curb.

The two men had argued over parking before, but on Sunday night, when the Ramos family was about to enjoy a barbecue, the tension boiled over, neighbors said.

At 10:20 p.m., Ramos, 39, a father of four, was shot to death in his driveway with a handgun. Ramos' son Filiberto, 19, also was shot twice in the back of the right leg as he tried to flee. He survived.

``This was about typical neighborhood issues, but apparently it escalated into violence,'' said Lt. George Rock, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division.

On Monday, Ramos' 9-year-old son, Johnny, stood over his father's blood in the driveway, pointed at the round, dark stain and said, ``This is where my dad was shot.'' Later, he collected yellow police tape from the scene.

Police said Williamson had a prior conviction for spousal abuse. The father of 17-year-old identical twins, he had asked one of his sons to bring him a loaded handgun to shoot Ramos, police said.

Early Monday morning, Williamson surprised detectives by turning himself in. He told a television news crew parked outside the police station that he was surrendering, but that his son is innocent.

When asked repeatedly by a television reporter whether he killed Ramos, Williamson said, ``No comment.''

Four hours later, Williamson's son, who had been sought, also turned himself in; his name was withheld because he is a minor.

Both father and son were charged with murder and attempted murder and were being held without bail, Rock said.

Neighbors and friends who gathered at the Ramos home Monday to comfort the family said Williamson was a drinker. Alcohol fed his rage, they said.

``It could have been me,'' said neighbor Herbert Leon, who added that Williamson had come looking for him over a previous dispute. ``He came to my house looking for someone and said to my friend, `I'm going to kill you.'''

Others said Williamson, who is black, simply didn't like Latinos.

``We had reported him before to police about a month ago,'' said a 25-year-old family friend who would give his name only as Arnoldo. ``He didn't like anyone to park near his curb.''

This was the second neighborhood dispute in three months that left someone dead. Police said Castulo Nevarez, 68, shot and killed Pacoima resident Juan Jorge Gomez, 23 -- also over parking spaces. Nevarez remains on the loose.

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3 photos

Photo:

(1) Johnny Ramos, 9, stands in the driveway in the 10100 block of Woodale Avenue in Arleta on Monday and looks at the bloodstains where police say a neighbor shot and killed Johnny's father, Filimon Ramos, on Sunday night after a dispute over parking.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

(2 -- 3 -- color) On a picture taken from television, murder suspect Alvaro Williamson talks to a KNBC-TV reporter before turning himself in to police Monday in the death of Filimon Ramos, far left, Sunday night.