Pair Wanted in Officer’s Death Give Selves Up

A suspected gang member and his girlfriend, accused of fatally shooting a Los Angeles police officer last month, surrendered early Thursday to a television news reporter and later were arrested at the newsman’s station in Hollywood.

The capture of Kirkton Phenor Moore, 27, and Raylene Brooks, 17, for the Sept. 3 murder of Los Angeles Police Officer Daniel Pratt had been a top priority for local law enforcement authorities.

The officer was the first to be killed as a result of a gang drive-by shooting in Los Angeles and a $40,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of his slayers.

Police Chief Daryl F. Gates, pleased with the turn of events, went out of his way at a news conference at KTLA’s studios to thank reporter Warren Wilson.

“He’s done something we’ve wanted to do desperately for the last several weeks,” Gates said. “Kirkton Moore and (Raylene) Brooks are in jail, where they ought to be.”

Not Seeking Spotlight

For his part, Wilson, 54, said he was just doing his job and was not seeking the spotlight.

“I’m comfortable that KTLA management was willing to allow us to have the man surrender to us,” the newsman said. “I wasn’t looking for publicity in this. I didn’t want to see anyone (police officers or gang members) killed. We’ve had enough of that.”

Wilson said Moore feared for his life, because he was the suspected killer of a police officer and thought there was safety in surrendering to a newsman.

Pratt, 30, a six-year veteran of the Police Department, was shot and killed while investigating a gang-related shooting in the Hyde Park area of Southwest Los Angeles, near Inglewood.

The officer was working undercover when he and his partner, Veronica DeLao, heard gunfire. The officers chased a car they saw leaving the scene of a drive-by shooting.

Investigators said the car turned and bore down on Pratt and DeLao in a service station at the corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue. During an exchange of gunfire, Pratt was shot in the face. DeLao was uninjured.

Two others were initially arrested for the slaying, but they were cleared. The hunt for the killers focused on Moore, who allegedly fired the fatal shoots, and Brooks, who allegedly drove the speeding auto. Investigators linked a rifle apparently used in the shooting to Moore.

Officers said witnesses can testify to the pair’s involvement.

Fox Television Network’s “America’s Most Wanted,” shown locally over KTTV Channel 11, did a segment on the shooting and the hunt for Moore and Brooks.

Moore apparently saw the segment in Las Vegas last Sunday night and decided to turn himself in, according to the show’s executive producer, Mike Linder.

Claimed His Innocence

But Wilson said Moore told him that he had decided to give himself up long before the program aired.

It began 10 days ago, when Moore’s mother, Julia Hall, called Wilson at the station and inquired if he would be interested in accepting the pair’s surrender. Wilson visited Hall the next day and continued to keep in touch with Hall and other family members.

At the same time, KTLA news director Jeff Wald said, the Police Department was advised of the contact and the subsequent talks. At no time were the whereabouts of Moore and Brooks revealed to Wilson, Wald said.

Late Wednesday, Wilson said, Hall called to say her son was ready to surrender.

Police were notified and Wilson, accompanied by KTLA cameraman Jon Fischer, Hall and Moore’s sister, Lorelei Kerr, flew to Las Vegas to meet the fugitives at a downtown motel. No police officers accompanied them.

About 11:30 p.m., the newsmen met with Wilson and Brooks. After some talking, they agreed to return to Los Angeles. But Moore did not want to fly so Wilson rented a van.

On the drive back, Wilson said, he stopped several times to call his station, advise Los Angeles police of the situation and to get coffee.

At 4:30 a.m., they arrived at KTLA’s studios. And 10 minutes later, police officers arrived and took the unarmed pair into custody without incident. They were booked on suspicion of first-degree murder, arraigned and held without bail.

The six-hour sequence of events--from Wilson’s first contact with the pair late Wednesday night to the arrests--was captured on videotape.

During the long drive back from Las Vegas, Wilson and KTLA cameraman Jon Fischer said, Moore claimed his innocence.

“There was no alibi,” Wilson said at the news conference. “He said he deplored the shooting. He said he was not involved.”

This was not the first time that a murder suspect had turned himself in to Wilson, who has been a fixture on Los Angeles television since 1972, when he was a reporter at KNBC Channel 4.

In April, Wilson arranged the surrender of a suspect in the murder of Inglewood Police Detective George Aguilar. Joevone Elster, 22, was arrested after he gave himself up to officials of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

And Wilson said two other murder suspects turned themselves in to him after seeing his reports on TV in recent years.

“I guess some people trust me,” he said, noting that the fact that he is one of the few blacks on local TV news may have played a part in the surrender.

One unresolved issue in the case is the $40,000 reward.

The board president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, Lt. George V. Aliano, said no decision has been made on who might get the reward. Among the people who might get it are Hall and Wilson.

But the newsman would have none of it.

“I would consider that blood money,” he said.

Times staff writers Roxane Arnold, Nieson Himmel and Mike Meadows contributed to this article.