Reputed Gang Member Held in Baby’s Hit-and-Run Death

A reputed gang member on parole for a narcotics violation was arrested Tuesday in the hit-and-run death of a baby, the third little girl to become the victim of Los Angeles street gangs in recent weeks.

Eric Lamont Reed was arrested without incident in South-Central Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, said Sgt. Terri Tatreau of the Los Angeles Police Department. She said Reed will be 22 years old today.

The baby, 5-month-old Lashanique Leverett, was being held by a close family friend, Howard Germany, 20, in the 100 block of West 78th Street on April 22 when the driver of a two-toned car swerved across the street, gunned the engine and deliberately ran into Germany and the infant.

Even before Tuesday’s arrest, police suspected that the incident was gang-related because Germany, who was hospitalized with head and leg injuries, belongs to a local gang.

The baby was thrown several feet to the pavement and later died. Her mother, Lashawnda Robertson, 17, was nearby.

The death only served to heighten community outrage in South and East Los Angeles, where two other little girls had been killed by gunfire a few weeks earlier.

Sabrina Haley, 18 months old, was shot April 8 while she sat beside her father, Michael Haley, in a car at 48th Street and Avalon Boulevard. Haley, 19, was described by police as a known associate of gang members and was thought to be the target of the assailants.

Two days after Sabrina was killed, 3-year-old Denise Silva of Boyle Heights was shot through the heart as she walked hand-in-hand with her father to a corner grocery store at 1st and Savannah streets.

After both killings, as well as after the killing of Lashanique, police issued descriptions of the vehicles and people involved. Scores of residents risked gang retaliation and contacted police to pass on information that led to quick arrests in the first two deaths.

Two gang members, James Taylor, 22, and Everett Butler, 19, face murder charges in Sabrina’s death. Two other gang members, Andres Varela, 22, and a 17-year-old juvenile, were arrested in Denise’s death.

Police did not reveal what clues led to Reed’s arrest in Lashanique’s death.