Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón was joined by family members of Cliff Hibbert Jr., who was shot and killed 15 years ago, as they called for the public’s assistance for his unsolved murder and many other unsolved homicides throughout the county.
“My heart breaks knowing that this 22-year-old man’s life was taken away from him so soon and what hurts even more is that the person or persons responsible have never been held accountable,” Gascón said. “The legal system has failed Cliff Jr. and so many others like him. We are here today asking the community that if you have witnessed this or any other homicide to please come forward. Your information plays a vital role in the arrest and filing of criminal charges. That information may save a life.”
Hibbert, a California State University, Northridge student and his friend were fatally shot in South Los Angeles on March 28, 2008, while on spring break. Hibbert’s dream was to practice business law and he was working on getting a scholarship to do his internship in Washington, D.C.
“Toward his last year of school, my son started to buckle down and prepare himself for his future, but all those hopes and dreams were shot down when he was murdered that night,” Donna Brown said. “The week leading up to his murder, he was promoted to management at his job and purchased a new car independently. I listened and watched my son become a man and was so proud of him. He went out to celebrate and enjoy his life for all his hard work on spring break until he was gunned down.”
Sadly, African Americans represent a disproportionate number of homicide victims. Their murders are also solved at a lower rate than white victims. Unsolved homicides, like the murder of Cliff Hibbert, can languish for decades because members of our community who know what happened are afraid and they don’t trust law enforcement. While some cases are solved with forensic or video evidence, there are others in which eyewitness testimony is critical.
Gascón hopes that this will be the first in a regular series of unsolved homicide press conferences. The office will partner with various law enforcement agencies to provide critical details to the public with hopes of jarring someone’s memory and catching a break in the case.
"We hope to use every tool at our disposal to bring justice to murder victims and their families," said the DA's office.
Republished courtesy of DA Gascon.