LOS ANGELES, CA — A $20,000 reward is being offered for help identifying the shooter who took the life of fformer NBA player Richard Jefferson’s father. Investigators on Tuesday said the slaying is believed to be a racially motivated attack.
Authorities announced the award in hopes of dislodging clues to help solve the 2018 slaying of Richard Allen Jefferson, 65, in Compton. According to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Jefferson was shot repeatedly at about 6:35 p.m. on Sept. 19, 2018 while standing on a sidewalk in the 600 block of West Peach Street.
“Upon arrival, deputies found the victim lying on the ground, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement. “The victim was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The victim was well-liked in the community and investigators believe he was targeted solely because of his race.”
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives and Jefferson’s loved ones held a press conference Tuesday to announce the reward and plead for help.
“Based on the information, it appears that Mr. Jefferson was an innocent bystander killed in a senseless act of violence,” said Lt. Patricia Thomas. “Investigators believe the suspect vehicle was occupied by gang members who mistakenly thought Mr. Jefferson [was a] gang member.”
“He was a brother, a son, a father, a grandfather,” Jefferson’s brother Kenneth said at the news conference. “He was very much loved.”
Richard Jefferson’s son played for several teams including the Golden State Warriors over a 17-year NBA career and won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
City News Service contributed to this report.