Man in Phone Booth Slain by Robbers

A man who stopped to use a phone booth in Inglewood was shot and killed by robbers, police said Tuesday.

Tony Payne, 21, of Westchester, died at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center shortly after he was shot in the back about 9 p.m. Monday, Sgt. Ron Jackson said. The shooting occurred at a gas station at Manchester and Crenshaw boulevards in the Morningside Park section of Inglewood, an area of heavy gang activity.

Jackson said Payne did not appear to be involved with any gang.

Detectives were looking for two men in their late teens or early 20s, one of whom was seen shooting Payne with a semiautomatic handgun. Detectives believe that robbery motivated the slaying because some property had been taken from Payne’s car.