Slain Scout Was Not Marked for Death, Detectives Believe

A Sheriff’s Department Explorer Scout who was killed in a drive-by shooting Monday afternoon “just happened to get in the way” of a hail of gunfire and was not slain because he often reported crimes in his neighborhood, authorities said Tuesday.

Sgt. Stuart Reed, one of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives investigating the death of 19-year-old Anthony Jerome Gardner, expressed fears that the incident might produce “a chilling effect on other youths who might want to become involved in law enforcement.”

“We don’t have that many young people as it is who are interested (in police careers),” Reed said. “This doesn’t help us.”

Gardner, who authorities said often warned deputies and neighbors of impending gang activity, was gunned down shortly after 1 p.m. Monday as he talked with friends near his home in the 10200 block of South Haas Avenue in an unincorporated area near Inglewood.

Issued Warnings

Neighborhood youths told reporters that, three days before the incident, Gardner had told them to “watch out, some gang-bangers were trying to kill him.” But Reed said Gardner probably had issued similar warnings “several times before.”

Reed, who said no arrests have been made, believes that the shooting was in retribution for an earlier gang-related incident. He provided no details on the incident, or why detectives believe that Gardner was not an intended target.

The sergeant noted, however, that the Scout was shot while standing in the street next to one long-time friend and talking to two other friends who had just climbed into a parked car.

“Any one of them could have been hit,” Reed said. “Someone in the car could possibly have been killed but for the fact that a bullet that came through the windshield ricocheted off the mirror.”

Only Gardner was hit by gunfire.

On Tuesday at the Carson sheriff’s substation where he worked, news of the teen-ager’s death stunned and saddened officers.

“Everyone’s shocked,” said Sgt. Danny Bullocks, who often allowed Gardner to ride along with him on patrols. “There’s disbelief. We deal with a lot of things like this, but you think you’re immune to it. It brings you back to reality, the thought that this can happen to you or someone you know.”

As officers solemnly recounted the shooting and fielded citizens’ phone calls about the incident, they recalled the “model Scout” who was preparing to enter the Sheriff’s Department’s training academy Nov. 17.

“He was always upbeat,” Bullocks said. “He was also a respectful and polite kid, had good leadership qualities. Whenever he rode with me, he asked questions. He was really enthusiastic and intelligent.”

Bullocks said Gardner, a sergeant in the Explorer Scouts, won the “Toughest Explorer Alive” contest in 1986, besting opponents in the 100-yard dash and the shot put.

Sgt. Tom Diviak, one of Gardner’s supervisors, said the youth would often joke with him but could do so “with respect for my authority.”

“When time came to take care of business,” Diviak said, “he was very serious. He could joke, but he knew when not to.”

Like the other 22 Explorer Scouts at the Carson station, Gardner’s duties included shoring up security at the Rose Bowl and other major events, asking Carson residents about leads on missing children and logging arrest data for investigators.

Bullocks and others said he performed his duties in earnest.

“I think he would have made an excellent deputy,” Bullocks said. “He had what it takes.”

Regina Vince, a civilian crime prevention aide at the station, said Gardner would come to the station two or three times a week to work and socialize with the officers.

‘Good Kid’

“He was a good kid,” she said. “When he was here, he was very polite and hard working. When I read about (the shooting), I started crying. I’ve been crying ever since.”

Bullocks said the shooting has affected many people.

“We’ve been getting calls all day about this,” he said. “People want to do something to help. The citizens of Carson and other places want to know what’s going on.”

Diviak said the station has received so many calls that a memorial fund has been set up in Gardner’s name. He said he is unsure of how the money will be used.

“I have to see what the consensus wants us to do with the money,” he said. “Some people called in and said they want it to go to the Explorers. Others want it to go to his family. Other people said, ‘Use it for the sheriff’s youth fund.’ ”

He said the station would also like to honor Gardner with a memorial service but is waiting until the family has made funeral arrangements.