Woman, man found shot to death in Pomona, suspect leads officers on erratic chase

Loved ones are devastated after a woman and a man were found shot to death at a Pomona apartment complex and the woman’s boyfriend was arrested after leading officers on a dangerous pursuit.

On Friday, friends and family gathered outside the Pomona apartment complex where Veronica Lopez, 24, and Richard Brady, 48, were found fatally shot.

On June 18, Pomona police were called to the Monterey Station Apartments at 180 E. Monterey Ave. just before 3:30 p.m. on reports of a shooting.

Officers made their way up to a fourth-floor apartment hallway where they found two victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

Despite life-saving measures, both were pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect and Veronica’s boyfriend, Robert Galtman, 48, had fled the scene in a Kia sedan.

Around 5 p.m., California Highway Patrol officers spotted his vehicle on the freeway and he led them on a high-speed, hour-long chase before officers successfully performed a PIT maneuver that disabled his vehicle. He surrendered and was taken into custody. 

Friends and family members are devastated over the victims’ deaths and have so many unanswered questions.

“I don’t understand,” said Sheila Lopez, Veronica’s mother. “She didn’t deserve this.”

Sheila had spoken to her daughter just hours before the deadly shooting. She told her daughter she would call her later after work, but when she did, her daughter never answered the phone.

Her family later learned that Veronica had been shot and killed and that her boyfriend of several years, Galtman, was under arrest.  

Lopez’s family said that Veronica was in an abusive relationship and they believe she was trying to leave her boyfriend when she was killed. They had also previously urged her to leave.

“I believe she was walking away,” Sheila told KTLA’s Lindsey Pena. “I think she should’ve just walked away. This is why this all happened.”

They also believe the other victim, Brady, was likely just trying to help her. Brady’s close friend and the mother of his child, Heather Cantu, agreed, saying helping others in a situation like that is something he would’ve done.

“I just think that if she was in an abusive relationship, that’s what he was doing,” Cantu said.

His brother told The Daily Bulletin that he was aware of Veronica’s abusive relationship.

“My brother helped her out of that situation,” he told the outlet. “They became friends. My brother stuck up for those who couldn’t stick up for themselves. Unfortunately, he walked into a situation out of his control.”

Cantu described him as a loving father to two children and a kind man and who will be greatly missed. 

“We’ll all remember how happy he made everybody,” Cantu said. “He was a jokester. He was always happy and he always tried to make everybody else feel good.”

On Friday night, loved ones gathered at a growing memorial outside the Pomona apartment complex where the victims and the suspect all lived.

Sheila said Veronica was the youngest of her five daughters, who always lit up a room and brought joy to those around her.

“She’s definitely someone to miss,” Sheila said. “She’s a great skateboarder. She loves to go to games and she loves her family.”

In a GoFundMe page, loved ones said Veronica “had a way of making everyone around her feel loved and valued. The pain of losing her is unimaginable, and our hearts are broken.”

Galtman remains in custody on $3.1 million bail.

A GoFundMe page to help Veronica’s family with funeral expenses can be found here.

A GoFundMe page to help Brady’s family with funeral expenses can be found here.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with additional information is asked to call the Pomona Police Department’s Detective Bureau at 909-620-2085.