Teen tagger jailed in anti-gang activist slaying
Tommie "T-Top" Rivers
A teenager was in custody today for allegedly killing an anti-gang activist who confronted him for tagging a wall in the Mid-City area.
Ronald L. Barron, a well-known gang intervention and youth development worker for the Amer-I-Can program headed by former National Football League great Jim Brown, died at a hospital a half-hour after the shooting, which occurred about 9 p.m. Sunday near Pico Boulevard and Sycamore Street.
Barron, 40, was leaving the Cottage Bar with his girlfriend when he confronted the tagger marking a wall. The suspect pulled out a gun and shot him several times at point-blank range, authorities said.
Witnesses said the suspect calmly walked away after shooting Barron, and disappeared into a nearby residential area.
Los Angeles police Officer Bruce Borihanh said the alleged shooter is a 16-year-old whose name was withheld because of his age.
The teen was taken into custody by homicide and gang detectives from the Wilshire Division, who said school police were involved in the investigation.
According to an LAPD statement, the suspect ``is not a gang member, but is known as a tagger and acted alone. Detectives do not believe that race was a motivating factor.''
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