Kilpatrick Star Goes AWOL

Keilon Fortune, the Southern Section Division V basketball co-player of the year, is being sought by authorities after failing to return to Camp Kilpatrick juvenile detention center following an all-star game, an L.A. County Probation Dept. source said.

Fortune, a senior who averaged 34.3 points and led Kilpatrick (27-3) to a school record for victories, told a Kilpatrick official he was going to change his clothes in the locker room after the all-star game in Long Beach last month and did not return.

Fortune had been detained since July at Kilpatrick, an L.A. County probation camp in Malibu, after his arrest for having an unregistered firearm in a car.

Fortune played at basketball powerhouse Compton Dominguez before being sent to Kilpatrick, which offers varsity sports and is considered a second chance for juvenile offenders. He was expected to be released this summer.

A Kilpatrick source said Fortune “got scared about something and just ran. Now he could go to [California] Youth Authority for four to five years. The longer it gets, the worse it will be.”

Fortune was scheduled to play in an all-star game June 8 in Woodland Hills, but Kilpatrick officials told organizers Fortune would not participate because he failed to return after the Long Beach game.

Margaret Billingsley, director at Camp Kilpatrick, declined comment because Fortune is a minor.