Ex-boyfriend suspected of killing mom and daughter in Compton is on the run, LASD says
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A man who is suspected of killing his ex-girlfriend and her daughter in a drive-by shooting in Compton is on the run, and believed to be armed and dangerous, authorities said.
The Los Angles County Sheriff’s Department is looking for Donte Lamont Brown, a 41-year-old resident of Compton who is suspected of killing his estranged girlfriend, La’von Hall, and her 22-year-old daughter, Ma’Laysia Martin, according to a department news release.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call about a shooting at the intersection of Caldwell Street and South Central Avenue around 7 p.m. Tuesday and found Hall, 45, lying on the ground with gunshot wounds. Her daughter was discovered in the passenger seat of a car crashed nearby, also bleeding from gunshot wounds, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies and Compton Fire Department personnel attempted to render lifesaving aid, but both victims were both pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators later learned that Brown drove up to the victims’ car while it was stopped at a light on Caldwell Street and unleashed several rounds of gunfire, hitting both the mother and daughter, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Investigators said the victims were in a car stopped at a light when a second vehicle pulled up next to them and someone opened fire. The shooter escaped.
Hall exited the driver’s side of the car and fell to the ground, mortally wounded. The car continued moving forward with Martin, wounded, in the passenger seat. It struck a signal pole on the southeast corner of the intersection, where Martin was found unresponsive, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Brown fled southbound on South Central Avenue and his whereabouts remain unknown, sheriff’s officials said.
The department said detectives have exhausted all leads in the search for Brown and are seeking the public’s assistance in locating him. He is known to frequent the Compton and Long Beach areas and is believed to be armed.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Anonymous tips can be left at (800) 222-8477 or at the Crime Stoppers website.
