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LAPD Hopes Public Can Help Them Identify Suspect In Murder Of Woman In Pep Boys Parking Lot

HARBOR CITY (CBSLA.com) —  The Los Angeles Police Department is hoping the public can help them identify a murder suspect.

Last month, the suspect shot two people in the parking lot of a Pep Boys located in the 1300 block of West Pacific Coast Highway in Harbor City.

The suspect fired multiple shots toward a crowded barbecue restaurant set up at the south end of the parking lot.

A female employee of the eatery was fatally struck. Police called her an innocent bystander.

While the LAPD did not identify the victim Wednesday, last month friends and family told CBS2/KCAL9 that she was 31-year-old Jennifer Dickerson. The victim has been working at the restaurant for about a year.

Family said the restaurant -- Wheaton's Eatin' -- was one of three jobs she held down -- Dickerson was an aspiring rapper and incredibly hard worker who was trying to make ends meet.

RELATED LINK: Innocent Bystander Fatally Shot In Pep Boys Parking Lot In Harbor City

A 34-year-old man was also shot. He was treated for a gunshot wound to his right bicep and released from the hospital.

The suspect is described as a black male. On Wednesday, the LAPD released photos of the suspect and his vehicle (an SUV whose hood is oxydized) in the hopes someone in the public could identify him.

Harbor Gateway Pep Boys Murder Suspect
(credit: LAPD)

Witnesses said he was wearing a bandana and appeared to be trying to shoot the male victim.

On Wednesday evening, CBS2's Erica Nochlin spoke to the dead woman's mother. While there were many witnesses, no one has come forward.

Her family told Nochlin it's time the community stands up against violence.

"I want that guy to know he destroyed us," said Valarie Holyfield, Dickerson's mom, "he took everything we had. Everybody here is destroyed."

Tonight, she was getting the first look at the man police say murdered her daughter.

"It's been rough," Holyfield said, "life as we know it, it's no more here. I can't work. I can't sleep. I can hardly do anything."

Detectives say it's been hard to get information, either out of fear or people not wanting to get involved.

"If Black Lives Matter," says Holyfield, "my daughter was black. This guy is black. Is it only when the police kills us, that it matters? Somebody knows something."

Holyfield is hoping people do the right thing and turn the suspect in.

"That means maybe another mother," she said, "wouldn't be feeling what I feel. And justice for Jennifer."

Anyone with information is urged to contact Harbor Homicide Detectives Coffee or Romulo at (310) 726-7887 or (310) 726-7880.

Suspect Car
(credit: LAPD)
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