Suspect Freed 3 Weeks Before Slaying of Parks’ Relative

Less than three weeks before he allegedly killed Police Chief Bernard C. Parks’ granddaughter, 18-year-old Samuel Sharad Shabazz was released from jail, where he had been awaiting trial on six counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors were unable to proceed with the case against the alleged gang member because the witnesses against him could not be located, according to Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Shabazz, who sources say has a lengthy juvenile arrest record, including carjacking, robbery and vandalism, was released from the Los Angeles County Jail system May 9.

Lori Gonzalez, the chief’s 20-year-old granddaughter, was killed May 28 when Shabazz fired at a passenger in her car, hitting her instead, police say.

Shabazz, who was arrested Tuesday, had been held in County Jail since December, when prosecutors filed charges against him. He was jailed in lieu of $4-million bail.

The attempted murder and assault charges were filed first in Juvenile Court, but were refiled later in Superior Court after a judge agreed with prosecutors that Shabazz could be tried as an adult, Gibbons said.

But even before Shabazz’s preliminary hearing in February, prosecutors were aware that police were unable to locate witnesses.

Detectives “told me months ago, well prior to the [preliminary hearing], that . . . police agencies had lost track of these victims and witnesses shortly after they had been released from the hospital where they had been treated,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter Horstman wrote in a disposition report.

The district attorney’s office then made a concerted attempt to find witnesses, assigning its own investigator to the case after detectives indicated that they were unsure if they would ever find them, Horstman said.

Efforts failed, however. Shabazz remained in jail until May 9, when the trial was scheduled to begin. But the district attorney’s office, with the LAPD detectives’ consent, withdrew the charges.

Such a resolution is common in gang-related shootings, said Gibbons.

“This is not an unusual outcome in a gang case,” she said. “A lot of people don’t want to be found to testify.”

Shabazz, police allege, is a member of the West Boulevard Crips and was well known to anti-gang detectives in Southwest Los Angeles.

“He was a very active gang member,” said LAPD Det. Brian Carr.

Arrest records show that Shabazz began committing crimes at a young age, moving through the juvenile justice system rapidly, sources said. Since he was 13, he had been arrested at least eight times on assault, robbery and vandalism charges, according to sources. He also was charged several times with violating probation.

Detectives investigating Gonzalez’s slaying are also continuing to examine the December shootings allegedly involving Shabazz.

In addition, detectives are attempting to determine any possible links between Shabazz and Ernest Gray, Gonzalez’s passenger and an alleged member of a rival gang, the P-Stone Crips.

Gonzalez was killed after she and Gray stopped to pick up chicken at a fast-food restaurant. She was trying to leave the Popeyes restaurant on La Brea Avenue near Jefferson Boulevard when Shabazz approached the car and shot through the passenger side window, police say. Gray apparently ducked and Gonzalez was hit, according to police.

Her death stunned Parks’ family. Her father, friends and former co-workers have described Gonzalez as a warm, family-oriented young woman who attended college in Mission Viejo and taught Sunday school. She was a longtime friend of Gray, and had apparently spent the day with him before her death.

Detectives said Friday that they are trying to determine any previous links between Shabazz and Gray.

Shabazz, who is being held in County Jail without bail, was arrested by patrol deputies Tuesday in Southwest Los Angeles. He was picked up on charges of drinking in public, but police learned he was wanted by the department’s homicide detectives in connection with Gonzalez’s killing.

Shabazz, who has been charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder, is expected to be arraigned in two weeks.