The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to charge gang interventionist Skipp Townsend with conspiracy to commit murder, citing a lack of evidence.
Instead, prosecutors charged his son Kody Townsend, 18, with one count of murder, one felony count of conspiracy to commit a crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. They also charged Jeremiah James Abdelhameed with one count of accessory after the fact.
Prosecutors added that Kody Townsend is accused of lying in wait, being an active participant in a criminal street gang and that the killing was carried out to further the activities of the gang.
The LA County DA said Kody Townsend allegedly killed 51-year-old Reginald Foreman, a reformed gang member and member of Skipp Townsend’s interventionist group 2nd Call, while he was working on a fencing project in South LA. Prosecutors said the alleged murder was “gang-motivated,” with Kody Townsend and Foreman from rival subsets of the Crips street gang.
Investigators said Kody Townsend walked up to Foreman and two other 2nd Call employees and shot and killed the 51-year-old with an AR-style rifle on Aug. 6.
“Gang violence doesn’t just claim lives; it robs entire communities of their sense of security and safety,” LA County DA Nathan J. Hochman said. “Mr. Foreman worked for 2nd Call, a restorative justice and gang prevention program, and was carrying out his duties in the community when the defendant allegedly shot and killed him.”
Abdelhameed allegedly helped Kody Townsend helped him avoid capture, according to the LA County DA. There is an active arrest warrant for Kody Townsend.
If convicted as charged, he faces life in prison, while Abdelhameed faces a sentence of seven years.