Photo: scene from the shooting in progress
COMPTON – An innocent child was the unwitting recipient of tragic results by two armed men in a Compton liquor-store’s parking lot. This week, Dwayne Ward (dob 3/14/88) and Kevaughn Harris (dob 5/20/90), both of Compton, were sentenced to life in prison.
It happened as a mother and toddler were waiting in a vehicle, as events during a quickly-escalated encounter turned for the worse.
“On Jan. 20, 2018, Harris was walking toward a car parked outside a liquor store in the 2800 block of West Alondra Boulevard,” said Ricardo Santiago of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
“Inside the vehicle were his girlfriend and her 3-year-old son Franklin.” “Ward was sitting in a nearby vehicle when a confrontation began with Harris. Both men pulled out handguns and began firing at one another,” said Santiago. Franklin, who was sitting in the backseat of the vehicle, was fatally shot in the exchange of gunfire.”
As a result, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigated Case # TA145656. In December 2019, Ward and Harris were both found guilty of one count each for the fatal shot which resulted in Second-degree Murder, Firing at an Occupied Motor Vehicle, Felon with a Firearm, and Attempted Murder.
District Attorney George Gascón announced, “The pain caused by the loss of a young child is unimaginable, more so when it’s caused by senseless violence. Today’s life sentences will ensure these men will never hurt another innocent victim again.”
The boy’s mother was not injured, yet the agony of the crossfire-shoutout bullet that ended the life of her son lives to this very day.
