Two suspects are being sought for allegedly murdering a 21-year-old man from Victorville near Venice and Crenshaw boulevards on July 12 after the victim made a wrong turn and stopped to look up directions.

LAPD Capt. Lillian Carranza speaks about the “senseless” shooting of Victorville resident De’Jon Ward with members of his family behind her. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The victim, De’Jon Willie Ward, was reportedly driving to the area at approximately 12:45 p.m. to pick-up a paycheck from a security company he worked for and became lost. Ward pulled into the parking lot of a 7-Eleven and was checking directions when two men pulled up in an SUV. As the victim sat in his car, one of the men allegedly walked up and asked Ward where he was from. The man then fired one shot, striking the victim. Ward drove out of the parking lot and crashed into a building on Venice Boulevard. He was later pronounced dead. Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Bureau Homicide Unit pieced together the sequence of events leading up to the shooting through witnesses, surveillance camera footage and interviews with family members who he had been in contact with in the minutes before his death.

Detectives have released surveillance camera footage of the shooting with the hope someone will recognize the suspects or their vehicle. Investigators and members of the Wilshire Division command staff were joined by more than 30 members of the victim’s family and friends at a press conference on Tuesday to appeal for the public’s help. Capt. Lillian Carranza, commanding officer of the Wilshire Division’s Patrol Unit, called the murder “senseless.”

“De’Jon did not deserve this,” Carranza said. “His life was cut short way too soon.”

Det. John Shafia, with the West Bureau Homicide Unit, said the motive for the shooting has not been established, but it appears to be gang related. He said Ward was not affiliated with gangs, and did not have a criminal record.

“It appears he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Shafia said. “He was here on business. He normally wouldn’t have been here. He lived far away and had never been here before. He made a wrong turn and stopped. He thought the 7-Eleven parking lot would be out of the way.”

Shafia said the neighborhood where the shooting took place has been plagued by gang problems in the past, but gang-related crime has tapered off there during the past few years. He said there are “sporadic” incidents, but the site where the shooting occurred is not considered troublesome.

“It could happen to anyone,” Shafia added.

Investigators declined to provide a description of the suspects, and instead asked members of the public to view the video at www.lapdonline.org. The driver of the Nissan appears to be Hispanic or Caucasian, and was wearing shorts and a light colored shirt. The second suspect, who is believed to be the gunman, was wearing a dark colored shirt and shorts. The footage is not clear enough for police to make a determination about his ethnicity or age, Shafia said. The vehicle is described as being a late-model, silver Nissan Armada.

“We have good video. Somebody will recognize these guys,” said Capt. Eric Davis, commanding officer of the Wilshire Division.

Ward’s family and friends stood alongside police personnel at the press conference and appealed for help.

“Our family, we are all devastated,” the victim’s aunt, Kisha Smith, said. “We want justice to be served.”

Smith said Ward grew up in Covina and attended Charter Oak High School, graduating in 2009. He was a standout running back and defensive back on the school’s football team, and was an A-student, she said. After high school he moved to Victorville, where many of his family members live. Smith said he was working two jobs, and was considering enlisting in the military.

“He was doing the right thing,” she said. “He came down to get his check and didn’t know where he was going, and went the wrong way. We can’t believe something like this happened.”

Anyone with information about the murder is asked to contact dets. Shafia or Robledo, with the West Bureau Homicide Unit, at (213)382-9470. During weekends and off hours, call the LAPD’s 24-hour hotline at (877)LAPD247.  Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call Crimestoppers at (800)222-TIPS, or leave tips at www.lapdonline.org.