The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday renewed rewards in two unrelated homicides, hoping to find the killer of a high school student gunned down in Palmdale in 2016 and a 22-year-old man ambushed at a bus stop in South Gate nearly four years ago.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended extending a $10,000 county reward, set to expire Sunday, in the case of Jaquarius “Jay” Quinn, who was found shot to death about 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2016, in the 2300 block of Old Harold Road, an area deputies called deserted. The Palmdale City Council has offered an additional $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Investigators say Jay went out to enjoy an early Sunday dinner with family members who last saw him about 5 p.m. on the day he was killed. Detectives are unsure of a motive for the killing and said it was unclear whether he was shot on the street or pushed out of a vehicle.
He was identified when his grandmother came to the sheriff’s station the next day to report him missing.
The R. Rex Parris High School 11th-grader’s hobbies included playing flag football with his friends, drawing, cooking and dancing. He was hoping to become an actor.
At a January news conference at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles, authorities and the teen’s family members appealed for help in solving the crime.
“Somebody knows what happened to my son.” said Jessica Quinn, who was wearing a T-shirt with an image of the teen on it. “My son didn’t deserve that. He was a kid; I mean, a child. How do you take a kid’s life like that? … I just want justice.”
Barger said his family “deserves to know that Jay’s killer is held responsible. It is my hope that this reward will help someone remember something that may be helpful in finally bringing justice to the Quinn family.”
Supervisor Hilda Solis recommended renewing a $20,000 reward, also set to expire Sunday, for information on the gunman who fatally shot 22-year-old Isaiah Equihua.
Equihua was sitting at a bus stop with his girlfriend on the corner of Michigan and California avenues in South Gate around 11 p.m. on April 13, 2015, when someone came up from behind, said something to him and then opened fire at close range.
Equihua was struck by multiple bullets and collapsed into the street as the shooter fled on foot.
Detectives say they have no viable clues and hope a reward will encourage someone to come forward.
Barger and Solis asked anyone with additional information on either homicide to call sheriff’s homicide Lt. Joe Mendoza at (323) 890-5564 or Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).