Anti-Gang Counselor Vows to Continue After Wounding

A popular anti-gang counselor who had been mediating a war between black and Latino gangs in Venice that has left 11 people dead in recent months is recovering from a gunshot wound, apparently inflicted by a gang member.

Police said Jimmie Powell, 32, who is a caseworker with the nonprofit organization Project Heavy West, was shot in the arm Saturday night as he walked near 4th and Vernon avenues in Venice.

Community activists say the shooting illustrates the danger they encounter in trying to broker peace among gangs. Powell, who was released from the hospital Tuesday, said Friday that he remains undaunted.

“I want people to see that I’m not retaliating, that even after being hit, I’m still trying to keep the peace,” he said.

Los Angeles police say Powell, who is black, waved at two Latino teen-agers, one of whom opened fire. Powell took cover behind a van and was wounded when he ran up the street. The attackers fled, said Detective Bernard Rogers.

A 17-year-old was arrested Sunday on an unrelated warrant and was linked to Powell’s shooting as well as to the killing of Sean Patterson, a Venice resident with no gang ties who was gunned down in November, Lt. Brad Merritt said. The unidentified youth has been charged with attempted murder in the Powell shooting and murder in the Patterson shooting.

Steve Singleton, a Project Heavy West case manager, said that within 15 minutes of the Powell shooting, the youth who allegedly shot Powell called Project Heavy West and left a stream of expletives on the answering machine.

Singleton recognized the voice and turned the tape over to police.