$10,000 Reward Offered by State in Gang Killings

Gov. George Deukmejian on Saturday singled out two unsolved gang-related murders in Los Angeles as crimes for which $10,000 state rewards will be paid to anyone providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers.

In his regular weekly radio speech, the governor said he was authorizing the rewards because Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and Sheriff Sherman Block say they “believe a reward may help bring those responsible to justice” in the two cases.

The first case, which Deukmejian called “one of Los Angeles’ worst drive-by shootings,” occurred April 1 when three men, believed to be gang members, raced through a South Los Angeles neighborhood in an automobile, firing shots at random.

A 19-year-old man was killed and 10 people were injured, including a 4-year-old boy. One suspect was arrested, but two others remain at large, the governor said.

In the second case, a 15-year-old boy was killed Oct. 1, 1987, as he walked near his Lynwood home, accompanied by his stepfather, brother and stepbrother.

Three or four men, all still at large, drove by in a red Pontiac and fired four rounds from a semi-automatic weapon, inflicting the fatal wound, Deukmejian said.

“Ridding our communities of gang violence and returning neighborhoods to the law-abiding citizens of our state,” the governor said, “will require a continued effort on the part of law enforcement, state and federal agencies, schools, community leaders and concerned citizens.

“If you have information about either of these cases, I urge you to report this information to local law enforcement agencies.”

7th Reward Offer

The governor’s authorization for the rewards Saturday marked the seventh time that he has offered rewards to help authorities track down criminal suspects.

Only one reward claim has been filed in a case so far, that of the Los Angeles area “night stalker” crimes in 1985, according to Kevin Brett, Deukmejian’s press secretary. A suspect in that case, Richard Ramirez, is now on trial in Los Angeles, charged with 14 murders and 21 assaults.

Noting that gang violence often involves the sale of illegal drugs, the governor also used his address to urge the state Senate to send him an Assembly-passed bill that would allow wiretapping of suspected drug dealers so that he can sign it into law.

Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) also devoted his regular weekly radio speech to gang violence. Brown said the violence “has escalated beyond the crisis stage,” despite legislative passage of more than 80 bills aimed at reducing it since 1984.

He reiterated a suggestion that someone like Eliot Ness--the Prohibition-era federal official of the “Untouchables” movie and television series fame--could be found to head up a statewide effort to crack down on gang violence.

Brown added that he plans to call a statewide convocation of police chiefs and sheriffs, federal drug agents, the border patrol task force, the attorney general, educators and legislators to discuss the gang violence problem.