Velton Gates, 19

Died July 27, 2007 at 9:35 a.m.

Velton Gates, a 19-year-old young black man, was shot multiple times at 4936 Stevely Ave. and died at 9:35 a.m. Friday, July 27.

Police officers found him shot to death at the mouth of an alley just south of Coliseum Street at Stevely Avenue in Baldwin Village. He was walking on Coliseum when his killers, several black men or youths, came upon him. They chased him on foot for some distance, ultimately shooting him at close range, before getting away in a car, said Southwest Det. John Skaggs.

The crime scene was crowded and emotional—"415," to use the LAPD lingo. People gathered at the police tape objected to Gates' body lying out in the sun, and some members of the crowd gave police some trouble, officers said. The crime occurred a short distance from the double-homicide that killed victims Scott Grant and Aric Lexing, chronicled by HR last week.