Hawthorne Gang-Shooting Suspect Wounded by Officer
An off-duty Hawthorne policeman Sunday night shot and wounded a reputed gang member who moments earlier had shot another man in an apparent act of gang retribution, authorities said.
Roosevelt Matthews, a 7-year department veteran, was visiting a friend’s home near Hollypark in northeast Hawthorne when he heard shooting, Lt. Herb Mundon said. Matthews ran to the park, where he chased two men suspected of shooting Hubert Davis, 25.
Matthews exchanged several shots with suspect Cedrick Payne, who carried a .45-caliber submachine gun, Detective Larry Ingalls said.
Payne, 21, was knocked to the ground and incapacitated when a bullet grazed the back of his head, Ingalls said. His companion escaped.
Payne has been charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful possession of a silencer and brandishing a weapon at a peace officer. The man he allegedly shot, Davis, was treated and released from Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center.
Police said Payne is a Gardena gang member who came to Hollypark seeking retribution for a fellow gang member who was shot Saturday.
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