LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today renewed $20,000 rewards in hopes of solving the 2016 shooting death of a high school student in Palmdale and the mysterious disappearance of a young Littlerock mother who's presumed dead.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended extending a $20,000 county reward, set to expire Wednesday, in the killing of 17-year-old Jaquarius ``Jay'' Quinn, who was found dead about 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, 2016, in a deserted area in the 2300 block of Old Harold Road. The Palmdale City Council has offered an additional $10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Investigators said the teen had shared an early Sunday dinner with family members, who last saw him about 5 p.m. that day. Detectives are unsure of a motive for the killing and said it was unclear if he was shot on the street or pushed out of a vehicle.
The R. Rex Parris High School 11th-grader's hobbies included playing flag football with his friends, drawing, cooking and dancing. He was hoping to become an actor.
``Somebody knows what happened to my son.'' the teen's mother, Jessica Quinn, said during a January news conference. ``My son didn't deserve that. He was a kid. I mean, a child. How do you take a kid's life like that? ... I just want justice.''
Barger also recommended renewing a $20,000 reward for information on the suspicious disappearance of then-28-year-old Monique Figueroa, who was last seen driving away from her Littlerock home in the 7200 block of East Avenue U- 12 around 4 a.m. on May 19, 2015.
Figueroa's car, a 2004 burgundy Mercedes-Benz, was recovered 11 days later in an abandoned shed in Juniper Hills. Authorities said there were signs of foul play.
Figueroa had left her 2-year-old daughter in the care of her family, who reported her missing several days after she left home.
Jeff Figueroa told ABC7 the day after his daughter's car was found that her boyfriend had been recently arrested in a murder case and she was known to hang out with gang members. He said he believed some of those acquaintances feared she would become a witness against them, though authorities told ``Dateline NBC'' that she had refused to cooperate in the investigation.
Her father begged her captors to free her and said he received a text from his daughter the day after she vanished, saying, ``Had to leave; love you; be back soon.''
Investigators found no trail of cell phone or credit card use following her disappearance.
Homicide investigators received a tip in 2016 that Figueroa's remains might be buried off the 11000 block of Pearblossom Highway in Palmdale. But a search by detectives, cadaver scent dogs and coroner's personnel yielded no results.
The reward, set to expire Feb. 21, will now be available for at least the next 90 days.
Barger urged anyone with additional information on either of the cases to call the sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).