Reward for info on fatal shootings
$20,000 offered in case of two killings at illegal street takeover last year in Compton.
The loved ones of two men who were fatally shot during an illegal street takeover last year in Compton joined sheriff ’s officials Friday in asking for the public’s help in finding the killers.
Javier Carachure Menchaca, 19, and Juan Antonio Orozco, 22, were shot during a street takeover on Nov. 14, authorities said. Investigators said neither victim was affiliated with a gang, and both were spectators at the event.
Street takeovers typically involve people performing dangerous stunts in cars.
On Friday, authorities announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the shootings. Detectives said they had exhausted all leads in the case.
Roughly 200 people attended the illegal street takeover in an industrial area at the intersection of Bulls Road and Pine Avenue, authorities said. Shots rang out as Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies arrived around 1 a.m.; hundreds of people fled in their cars. The single vehicle that remained contained the bodies of Menchaca and Orozco, according to homicide detectives.
Speaking at a news conference Friday, Sgt. Michael Austin of the Sheriff’s Department said there were plenty of witnesses at the scene.
“Hundreds of vehicles were out there,” he said.
Menchaca’s and Orozco’s mothers pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.
“I didn’t get to enjoy my son’s time,” Sylvia Rosales, Orozco’s mother, said in Spanish.
She described her son as adventurous, loving and a hard worker who dropped out of school as a teenager to help pay for his family’s expenses. Orozco was born in Los Angeles; his family is from Jalisco, Mexico.
Orozco’s girlfriend of four years, Jasmine Baide, said he worked for a mobile detailing service. The day before the shooting, he told her and his mother that he planned to attend the street takeover.
Rosales went out to look for her son the morning after the shooting, because video was circulating on social media showing that two men had been killed. Rosales said she sobs thinking about the fact that the video clearly showed her son.
Menchaca’s mother, Hermalinda Menchaca, said her son loved to play football and video games. He was born in L.A.; his family is from Michoacan, Mexico.
“He was serious and shy,” said Menchaca’s older sister Jessica Carachure. “It was rare to see him laughing out loud.”
“He was very intelligent as a young boy,” Menchaca’s mother said. “Since he was 8 or 10, he wanted to be a police officer or work in law enforcement.”
Carachure added that after her brother graduated from high school, he wanted to become a chef.
Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call Austin or homicide detective Timothy Ruggiero at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be made at 800-222-8477.