William M. Welch

USA TODAY

The mayor of Bell Gardens, Calif., a small city in Los Angeles County, died Tuesday after being shot at home, the sheriff's department says.

Mayor Daniel Crespo, 45, was declared dead after being transported from his home to a hospital, Los Angeles County sheriff's spokeswoman Nicole Nishida said.

The mayor's wife, Levette Crespo, 43, was questioned and released, the Sheriff's department said. County prosecutors will decide whether charges will be brought.

Lt. Steve Jauch of the sheriff's department homicide unit told KCBS-TV that Crespo was shot multiple times after a family argument.

During the argument the couple's son, Daniel Jr., 19, intervened and Crespo began to fight with him. Levette Crespo then retrieved a gun and shot her husband several times in the torso, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Crystal Hernandez told the Associated Press.

County Deputy R. Rouzan said officers were responding to a shooting at Bell Gardens that took place at approximately 3:35 p.m. He said the incident was in the 6300 block of Gage Avenue.

Bell Gardens is a city of about 42,000 people southeast of Los Angeles. It is located nearby but is a different jurisdiction from Bell, Calif., which gained attention for a major municipal corruption case involving its former mayor and other officials.

Bell Gardens is known regionally as one of the few jurisdictions in California that permits casino gambling. It is bordered by the cities of Commerce, Downey, South Gate and Bell.

According to the city's website, Crespo "was born and raised in one of the toughest projects in Brooklyn, New York.''

He and his wife, high school sweethearts, married in 1986 and moved to Bell Gardens the following year. He has two children, a daughter born in 1987 and a son born in 1994.

Crespo has a degree in criminal justice/public administration from California State University-Los Angeles and has worked for 15 years as a deputy probation officer for the county. He has served on the city council since 2001.

Contributing: The Associated Press