Gang Members Kill Youth, Escape in East Compton

After fatally shooting a 16-year-old boy, gang members tossed their gun into the street, where it was retrieved by a small child who was playing with several other children Friday in East Compton, sheriff’s deputies reported.

The child dropped the pistol “like a hot potato,” and was not hurt, said Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Pippin.

Shortly afterward, a 26-year-old man on parole and just five days out of prison picked up the gun. He took it to his nearby home, but when his mother saw him carrying the weapon she refused to let him in, Pippin said.

The man later called the Sheriff’s Department and turned in the loaded weapon. “He was not booked. At this stage he’s just a witness,” Pippin said.

The victim of the shooting, Sergio Sanchez, was sitting in his car near the corner of Butler Avenue and Linsley Street at the border of Compton and unincorporated county territory when the attack occurred about 3 p.m. Sanchez, who authorities believe was a gang member, died 4 1/2 hours later at a hospital.

Pippin said two deputies on patrol nearby heard shots and the sound of a car speeding away.

But the suspects managed to elude authorities.

Two men in the car, believed to be gang members, were being sought. The car was described as a mid-1970s dark blue Chevrolet Caprice or Impala.

Pippin said that it still may be possible to get fingerprints from the gun, which he said could help in finding the suspects.

Pippin said “it was a miracle--or at least darn lucky--that that gun didn’t go off when it was thrown out of the car. A cheap gun like that could have gone off at the time or when one of the kids picked it up.”