Local officials offer $30,000 reward for information in Long Beach party shooting
Local officials offer $30,000 reward for information in Long Beach party shooting
by Emily Rasmussen, Nate Gartrell
Local officials are offering $30,000 to help capture the killer or killers who left three dead and nine injured at an Oct. 29 party in Long Beach’s Rose Park neighborhood.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, during its Tuesday meeting, voted to pitch in $15,000 as a reward for information leading to an arrest in the case, shortly after the Long Beach City Council matched the offer.
Police say there was at least one suspect, a man wearing dark clothing with a mask concealing his face, who fled the scene in a dark-colored vehicle after shooting at partygoers in a backyard in the 2700 block of 7th Street.
Over the years, there hasn’t been a lot of research on whether monetary rewards are successful, but a Chicago-based criminologist has spent a lot of time trying to figure out if they are.
“From a scientific standpoint, there is no solid evidence that offering a reward increases the overall likelihood that a crime will be solved,” said Arthur Lurigio, a professor at Loyola University Chicago. “My common sense and intuition – put aside my being a scientist and psychologist – I would think, ‘Of course that should make a difference,’ because you’re providing a financial motivation.”
But there are a lot of factors when people consider approaching police, including if the suspect is a relative or they otherwise know him or her – or perhaps they have been partners in crime.
“If people were going to report to the police and felt safe enough to report it,” Lurigio said, “they probably would’ve, otherwise I don’t know if the money could be the tipping point for them.”
Then again, there isn’t a lot to lose in offering a reward.
“It’s the community’s way of expressing their outrage,” Lurigio said.
At first rub, having a lot of witnesses seems like a real good thing: There were 25 to 30 people attending the joint birthday and Halloween party that night in Long Beach. But solving cases evolving from a violent party can breed problems.
“In any shocking event, many things can affect eyewitness memory,” said Elizabeth Loftus, a psychologist at University of California, Irvine and an expert on memory. “But when you have people who are intoxicated, it adds an additional level of concern. Alcohol affects the formation of new memories. People can form poor memories while they’re intoxicated.”
In April 2015, Ruben Sosa, 27, was at a house party in Oakley in Northern California when he was shot and killed during a large fight outside the home. There were dozens of eyewitnesses, but no one has been charged yet in Sosa’s killing.
About 35 miles away in Orinda, at least one gunman killed five this past Halloween evening as 100 others were about at a party in a rented mansion. Police have not announced an arrest so far.
“Well, obviously there’s the issue that it was Halloween and people are going to be in (costumes) and alter their appearance,” Qiana Washington, a defense attorney based in Walnut Creek, said about that case. “If people are intoxicated, that’s going to impair their memories. …
“And then, when you have shootings happening, people are going to focus on survival,” Washington said. “They’re not going to be studying who’s shooting; they’re just going to be trying to protect themselves.”
Police asked that anyone with information on the Rose Park shooting call them at 562-570-7244 or anonymously leave a tip with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by texting “TIPLA” plus a message to 274637.
All credit goes to Emily Rasmussen, Nate Gartrell Originally published on https://www.dailynews.com
