SOUTH-CENTRAL : Man Held in Slaying of Church Volunteer

Los Angeles police on Thursday arrested a man who they said fired the bullet that killed Kara Bynum-Buster, a devoted volunteer and pastor’s daughter at the Lighthouse Church of God in Christ in Watts.

In an arrest that was later broadcast by KABC-TV Channel 7, Jerry Mayfield, 29, was taken into custody at his South-Central Los Angeles home by several LAPD officers and booked for investigation of murder.

Bynum-Buster, 28, was killed instantly Monday when a bullet struck her in the head as she bent over to protect a 1-year-old niece outside the storefront church, which distributes food and clothing to the needy in Watts and elsewhere in Los Angeles County.

Lt. Sergio Robleto, commander of the South Bureau homicide squad, told KABC that police have strong evidence that Mayfield fired the fatal shot. Police said earlier Thursday that gunfire erupted after a failed attempt to burglarize a vehicle outside the Jordan Downs housing project, about 100 yards from the church.

Mayfield told KABC that he was innocent in the shooting. He said he saw a TV broadcast indicating that police were looking for him and decided to turn himself in “because I felt it was the right thing to do.”

He described himself as a sports coach to neighborhood children and said he had eaten meals at the church’s restaurant, where Bynum-Buster often worked.