L.A. D.A. drops conspiracy charge against Skipp Townsend: Son faces murder count
Prosecutors declined to charge the 2nd Call executive after his arrest, while his 19-year-old son is accused of killing a colleague in a gang-motivated shooting.
By Kaito Sokolov ·
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has decided not to file murder conspiracy charges against Clifford "Skipp" Townsend, the executive director of the anti-gang group 2nd Call. This decision came days after Los Angeles Police Department detectives and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents took Townsend into custody. While the 62-year-old leader avoided prosecution, his 19-year-old son, Kody Townsend, now faces a murder charge.
LAPD and FBI agents seized several computers from 2nd Call's offices at La Brea Avenue and Obama Boulevard on Wednesday. Officers led Townsend into a squad car, a scene captured on video by bystanders. By Friday afternoon, prosecutors had dropped the case against the elder Townsend. Four other individuals arrested with him, including Lenita Sinna Dee Lewis, Shamond Bennett, and Nichole Aaliyah Smith, also did not receive charges. Jeremiah Abdelhameed, 25, was charged as an accessory after the fact.
The district attorney's office alleges that Kody Townsend used an assault rifle to kill Reginald Foreman in August. Foreman, 51, was a 2nd Call employee who was fatally shot while removing weeds at a vacant lot near Crenshaw Boulevard and 60th Street. The office described the killing as gang motivated, noting that the victims belonged to rival factions of the Crips street gang. Kody Townsend had not been arrested as of Friday afternoon.
Tiffiny Blacknell, Townsend's attorney, stated that her client was pleased the charges were not filed. She expressed confusion over the arrest decision, noting that Townsend has led violence prevention efforts for over 20 years. "The motivation behind his arrest remains unclear and continues to confound us," Blacknell said in a text message. A spokesperson for the district attorney's office declined to answer questions about the decision not to charge Townsend.
Foreman, known as "Big Ant" or "BA," was working with Bennett and a 2nd Call team to clean up a stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard in Hyde Park. Witnesses reported that a youth in a medical face mask approached the pair and opened fire. Although Foreman ran, the shooter caught up to him and fired into his chest at point-blank range. Bennett escaped without injuries.
Sean Garcia-Leys, executive director of the Peace & Justice Law Center, warned that the sequence of events could create a chilling effect on potential intervention workers. "There is a personal incentive in intervention work to make amends for bad things you've done, give back, but there is also the desire to not ever get arrested or go to jail or prison again," Garcia-Leys said. He argued the arrest and quick rejection of charges could hurt LAPD's ability to collaborate with community members.
Skipp Townsend is expected to be released from custody later Friday. He is a former Rollin' 20s Bloods member who has led 2nd Call since its founding in 2006. The organization seeks to mediate gang disputes and provide alternatives to violence. Blacknell did not know who was representing Kody Townsend.
