$20,000 reward offered in fatal shooting of man in Compton

L.A. County sheriff’s detectives have exhausted all leads in the January murder of a man in Compton and on Wednesday offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Tauruson McMillian, a public works employee in the city of Pasadena, was killed about 6:40 p.m. Jan. 4 in the 1300 block of North Wilmington Avenue in Compton.

Lt. John Corina said the 34-year-old had left a friend’s house and was talking to his girlfriend on the phone as he was driving his red 2004 Chevy SS Monte Carlo when someone fired at him from a light-colored sedan.

McMillian’s car came to a rest at a fence next to Casa De Oracion, a small church at the corner of Wilmington Avenue and Cressey Street.

“We don’t have much to go on,” Corina said. “We know people were out there and they saw what happened, and we really want them to come forward.”

Investigators said they believe the shooter may have mistaken McMillian’s car for someone else’s vehicle.

“He was a hardworking person like you and me, he had a family and he had no enemies that we know of,” Corina said. “This may possibly be a case of mistaken identity.”

Compton Mayor Aja Brown asked residents to come forward with information as an act of speaking out against violence.

“We’re asking that the Compton citizens have a zero tolerance policy against violence,” Brown said.

McMillian’s father, George McMillian, wiped tears from his eyes as officials talked about his son’s murder during a news conference outside Compton City Hall.

Friends and other family members stood nearby, some with their heads down and wearing burgundy ribbons in honor of McMillian.

Among them was McMillian’s longtime girlfriend, Pamela Adel, 34.

Adel said McMillian had called her to say he was heading home when she heard what sounded like papers being shuffled around.

“I assumed the phone fell in between the seats and he couldn’t get to it,” she said.

It wasn’t until later that she learned he had been shot and killed.

Adel described McMillian as a good man who helped her raise her three children. She said he was adventurous and liked to jet ski and ride his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

She said McMillian dreamed of becoming a firefighter and had just completed the examination that would have paved the way for him to do that. He had applied at two fire departments.

“He was a man of good character -- ambitious, God-loving and heart-loving,” she said. “I miss his presence.”

Anyone with information may call sheriff’s homicide investigators at (323) 890-5500. Anonymous tips may be made at Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477

ruben.vives@latimes.com
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