The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Wednesday will ask the public for help in finding a “known suspect” in the shooting deaths of a 45-year-old mother and her 22-year-old daughter in Compton last month.
The public plea will come during a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the LASD Homicide Bureau in Monterey Park.
La’von Hall and her daughter Ma’Laysia Martin were shot around 7 p.m. April 1 at Caldwell Street and Central Avenue, according to the sheriff’s department.
Deputies found the mother in the street west of the intersection and her daughter in the passenger seat of a vehicle east of the intersection, both suffering from gunshot wounds, officials said. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said the women were in their vehicle on Caldwell and stopped at the signal when a vehicle pulled alongside them and the suspect opened fire before driving away southbound on Central Avenue.
Days after the killings, sheriff’s officials identified Hall’s ex-boyfriend — 41-year-old Donte Brown — as a suspect in the killings, but he remains at large.
Authorities said Brown is known to frequent the Compton and Long Beach areas and should be considered armed and dangerous. He was described as 5-feet-9-inches tall, weighing 245 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
However, the sheriff’s department’s announcement of Wednesday’s briefing did not mention Brown by name, and sheriff’s officials could not confirm Tuesday night whether he is the “known suspect” mentioned in the release.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors previously announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect responsible for the fatal shooting of Hall and Martin.
City and county officials expected to attend Wednesday’s briefing include LASD Homicide Bureau Acting Capt. Arturo Spencer; Lt. Omar Camacho; Investigator Cynthia Toone; Det. Christopher Dimmitt; and a representative from Compton Mayor Emma Sharif’s office.
Anyone with information regarding the suspect or the shooting was urged to contact the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.