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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors today reestablished a $20,000 reward for information in the killing of a 17-year-old Palmdale resident in 2016.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended re-offering the reward for information about the Nov. 6, 2016, killing of Jacquarius ``Jay'' Quinn. Barger also issued a statement via email and posted on Twitter in hopes of reaching potential witnesses.
``The senseless murder of this youth in 2016 is still unresolved and has left his family and the community at large searching for answers,'' Barger said. ``I'm hopeful that providing this monetary reward will help us find whoever is responsible and hold them accountable.
``Justice for Jacquarius must be served,'' she added.
Jacquarius was found shot at about 8:30 p.m. in the 2300 block of Old Harold Road, an area deputies called deserted.
Investigators said the 11th grader shared an early Sunday dinner with family members who last saw him in his room around 5 p.m. on the day he was killed. 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 student'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,'' his mother, Jessica Quinn, said during a January 2019 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.''
During that 2019 news conference, Jay's grandmother affectionately recalled memories of her grandson and then said, ``He was an innocent child. He wasn't on the streets. He didn't deserve to be left on the side of the highway.''
Investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department are still actively working on the case, Barger said.
``This youth was a good kid by all accounts,'' sheriff's Lt. Brandon Dean said in a statement. ``He wasn't a gang member, he had no prior involvement with the law. We ask anyone who has information about this case to please step forward and contact us. Every bit of information helps.''
The reward, which had expired on Aug. 3, 2020, will now be available for at least another 90 days.
Anyone with information about the death was urged to call the sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can also be called in to Crime Stoppers, 800-222-TIPS (8477), or posted online at lacrimestoppers.org.