VENICE : Anti-Gang Leader Treated for Wound Leaves Hospital
A popular community organizer was released from the hospital Tuesday after being treated for a gunshot wound to his right arm Saturday during a gang-related assault.
Jimmy Powell, 32, works with a nonprofit agency seeking to end strife between black and Latino gangs. As he walked in his neighborhood near 4th and Vernon avenues at 9:20 p.m., Powell apparently became a victim of the conflict.
Los Angeles police say Powell, who is black, waved at two Latino teen-agers, one of whom then opened fire. Powell was wounded as he ran behind a car. The attackers fled, said Detective Bernard Rogers.
“Jimmy was waving to the guys like he waves to everybody in the neighborhood,” said Lorenzo Merritt, director of Project Heavy West, a nonprofit youth diversion program for which Powell is a case manager. “Everyone knows him and likes him. He’s the type that’s always working. It’s just becoming very dangerous.”
Police have no suspects, Rogers said.
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