Meldrick and Carolina

CrimePAY$    $75,000 Murder Reward     TipLine 1-888-755-TIPS (8477)

WILMINGTON, CA — Two families are still mourning the loss of two 16-year-olds who were killed in a drive-by shooting last February and the Los Angeles police and the City Council are offering a $75,000 reward for information leading to arrests of the suspects responsible for their murders.

Meldrick A. Melgoza and Carolina Ramirez, both 16, were fatally shot around 7 p.m. in the 500 block of Bay View Avenue in Wilmington on Feb. 26, 2012 police said.

“They looked so happy. He was hugging my daughter and they were saying, ‘I love you’, and, ‘I love you more,’” said a woman whose daughter had talked to the couple an hour before the shooting. She did not want to be identified.

Witnesses said someone in a car pulled up to the two teens and opened fire.

The suspect shot Melgoza first, said a nearby resident. Ramirez then ran to a parked car and tried to hide underneath. The girl said police found Ramirez’s body underneath the car with gunshot wounds to her chest and legs.

A nearby resident said he heard about 13 shots fired.

Both victims were pronounced dead on the scene when paramedics arrived, officials said.

Police said it was unclear what motivated the crime.

It happened in an area of Wilmington that has recently been plagued by violence. Eight people have been killed this year alone in the 2.5-mile-radius surrounding the site where the teens were killed. Since 2007, there have been 53 homicides in the area; Most have been drive-by shootings, though not all have been gang-related.

Police said they do not have enough information to release a description of the suspects.

No one standing at the crime scene was willing to go on camera with CBS2 reporter Dave Lopez to talk about the incident — one resident told him, “No, why? So, next time I’ll be on the floor dead too?”

Police have increased patrols in the area and put more detectives on the case. But, an LAPD source said that if no one is willing to talk that there wasn’t much they could do.

CrimePAY$   $75,000 Murder Reward   TipLine  1-888-755-TIPS (8477)

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 29th, 2012 at 9:03 am and is filed under $50,000+, California, Unsolved Murder. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.