LONG BEACH, Calif.—Two people were behind bars July 7 in connection with a May 9 drive-by shooting in Long Beach that left a 12-year-old boy dead and injured a 14-year-old girl.
Reshawn Strother, 20, of Cypress, was already in custody in an unrelated attempted murder case but booked on suspicion of murder for the Long Beach shooting Friday, according to Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish. Destenee Sheree Scipio, 21, of Long Beach, was arrested Wednesday.
Strother was being held on $5 million bail and Scipio on $4 million bail, according to Long Beach police.
They are accused in the shooting that occurred around 11:30 p.m. May 9 in the 2200 block of Lewis Avenue, between Martin Luther King Jr. and Orange avenues. Police said Eric Gregory Brown III, 12, of Long Beach, was walking along the street with two girls, aged 13 and 14, when a vehicle approached them with at least two male suspects inside, and an unknown number of people in the vehicle opened fire.
Eric Brown was killed and the 14-year-old girl was injured. The 13-year-old escaped injury. The suspects fled the scene.
Eric Brown III, 12, was shot to death in Long Beach, Calif., on May 9, 2023. (Courtesy of Long Beach Police Department)
“There may be additional suspects, so as a reminder, this investigation remains ongoing and active,” Hebeish said during a Friday morning news conference. “The $25,000 reward for information remains in place for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any remaining suspects.
“We believe this incident stemmed from an earlier gang altercation not involving the victims,” the chief said, adding that Strother is a documented gang member, and Scipio is believed to be his girlfriend. He stressed that the victims had no gang ties.
“This incident was devastating for our entire community,” Hebeish said. “And as a father, it pains me to think that anybody would think so little of a life, let alone the lives of children, that they'd commit a crime like this.”
Hebeish credited detectives for conducting an exhaustive investigation that included researching information from automated license plate readers, “hours of video ... and all the additional information that they gathered at the scene and afterward.”
A GoFundMe account that was established for the boy’s family after the shooting has raised nearly $29,000. The account was established by LaQuioa Joseph, whose cousin Angela Washington was Eric’s mother.
“He was just a baby in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Joseph wrote on the page. “Eric was the 2nd of 5 children leaving behind his mother, his siblings, and a host of family and lots of friends. Eric will be remembered for his loving smile and his dance moves. Unfortunately, as a single mother Angela was not prepared to have to bury her son. Eric left a void in the family and will be forever missed.”
Anyone with information on the shooting was urged to call Dets. Michael Hubbard or Jesus Espinoza at 562-570-7244, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222- TIPS. Tipsters may also use the website.
