Father, 38, is shot dead in lawless LA after he confronted thief stealing from cars: City sees homicides soar 52% as woke DA George Gascon is slammed for soft justice

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A California father of three was shot dead days before Christmas by a burglar he and other neighbors chased down in a Los Angeles suburb.

Joey Casias, 38, was killed in Covina, about 20 miles outside L.A., where homicide figures have soared 52 percent in the past two years and Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is under fire for his soft-on-crime policies.

Police said the trouble began December 21 about 11 pm, when 'multiple neighbors' on the city's 1100 block of North Charter spotted a man stealing from a parked car. They followed him about a half a mile away to the 1800 block of East Covina Boulevard.

When the bandit was confronted, he pulled out a gun and fired several rounds, fatally wounding Casias, who was a UPS driver and Boy Scouts' leader police said.

The crime happened as criticism mounts around Gason, who continues to be called out for a zero-bail policy that some critics say is exacerbating the region's crime problems by freeing criminals to offend safe in the knowledge they'll be straight back on the streets after.

Joey Casias (pictured at left with his three children and wife) was shot dead December 21 after trying to stop a burglar caught stealing from a neighborhood car

Police arrested Trevor Howard Thompson with the crime following a lengthy standoff

Police arrested  suspected murderer Trevor Howard Thompson, 32, on December 22 following a standoff that lasted hours.

Covina Police Department Lt. Ryan Davis said Thompson was known to police, but he couldn't elaborate on past interactions cops had with the suspected gunman, or how recently he'd last fallen afoul of the law. 

The Christmastime killing left the victims' family facing some gut-wrenching questions from Casias' children.

'My granddaughter, when I put her to bed, said 'please don't tell me my daddy's not going to be here for Christmas,' Lydia Casias, the victim's mother, told NBC Los Angeles. 'It broke my heart.'

The victim's sister added: 'My nephew broke my heart: "Who's going to play football with me? Who's going to Disneyland? How do I answer those questions to a seven-year-old?' 

Casias, a UPS driver and boy scout leader, left his family shattered. His seven-year-old son asked his aunt: 'Who's going to play football with me?' His daughter pleaded with her grandma, saying: 'Please don't tell me daddy's not going to be here for Christmas'

His wife Veronica Casias (pictured together) described him as a 'wonderful father, a wonderful man'

Lydia Casias, the victim's mother, said the family was heartbroken over the death

A Gofundme established for the victim's family described Casias as 'the guy that would always give the shirt off his back. 

'He was the guy that would give his last dollar if you needed it,' Juan Niestas wrote on the page. 'He was the guy that this world needs more of. Father of three. 5 if you include the pooches.'

The UPS driver and boy scout leader shattered his young family, NBC Los Angeles reported.

'He was a wonderful father, a wonderful man,' his tearful wife Veronica told the station. 'He did everything for everyone.' 

Homicide rates in LA have skyrocketed over the past two years. At this time in 2019, the Los Angeles Police Department recorded 251 homicides.  As of December 18, there have been 382 slayings in the city, representing a 52 percent increase, according to LAPD data.

Burglaries have dipped over the past few years. 

Property crimes are up in California as a whole as well, according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).

Year-over-year through October, violent crimes spiked five percent statewide, with Oakland up 17 percent and Los Angeles up about one percent, PPIC data shows. 

Homicides during the same period rose 17 percent, from 523 last year to 613 as of October. In LA, homicides rose 17 percent, the institute said. 

Homicide rates in LA have skyrocketed over the past two years. At this time in 2019, the Los Angeles Police Department recorded 251 homicides. Burglaries have dipped in recent years

Eric Siddall of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys slammed LA DA George Gascon Monday for his silence on the recent string of smash-and-grab robberies

Gascon has been a lightening rod for criticism amid Los Angeles County's crime surge, with some blaming his soft prosecutorial approach  for incentivizing criminals.

Earlier this month, the head of a union that represents roughly 1,000 Los Angeles County prosecutors slammed Gascon for keeping mum despite the recent string of smash-and-grab robberies plaguing Southern California.

Gascon, one of many 'woke' DAs bankrolled by billionaire Democrat donor George Soros, has survived one recall effort and faces another that was launched December 6 after he was accused of being soft on crime.

'He's created an atmosphere devoid of accountability,' said Eric Siddall, vice president of the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys, during an appearance on Fox News on Monday.

The union head's comments come as organized groups of thieves continue to terrorize cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, brazenly looting retail stores for thousands of dollars-worth of goods, often in front of customers and staff.

Gascon's silence in the face of the lawlessness has only infuriated his critics.

Gascon has faced rampant criticism since assuming office last year over his progressive policies

A map shows the locations of some of the major smash-and-grab robberies that have recently taken place in Southern California

During the first week of December,  LA police arrested 14 suspects alleged to have been involved in 11 recent smash-and-grab robberies at stores last month, where nearly $340,000 worth of merchandise was stolen in strikes on an LA Nordstrom, a Lululemon in Studio City, a Fairfax district store, and a CVS pharmacy in South LA.

However, due to city's zero-bail policies, the suspects were all released within hours of being handcuffed and are currently walking the streets while they wait for their cases to go to court.

'If you look at the 14 people arrested, they could have been charged, there could have been bail amounts set, but none of that was done because the district attorney refuses to take a leadership position on this issue,' Siddall told Fox, slamming Gascon office's do-nothing approach to the rampant crime wave currently afflicting cities all across the Golden State.

 Crime is up in among a dozen major cities this year, including Philadelphia, which has shattered its 30-year-old record for annual murders, surpassing the much larger cities of New York and Los Angeles as metropolitans post all-time records for homicides.

As of December 22, Philadelphia had recorded 545 homicides for the year, surpassing New York's 464 murders as of December 19. In Chicago, 777 people were slain so far this year.