$50,000 reward offered in 2012 Vermont Vista shooting

Police said they have exhausted all leads in the 2012 shooting death of a 40-year-old man and made a plea Friday for the public’s help with a $50,000 reward.

Paul T. James was walking in the 9600 block of South Hoover Street in Vermont Vista about 8:45 p.m. on Oct. 11, 2012, when he was approached by a black man wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, said LAPD Det. Sal LaBarbera.

Without warning, the man pulled out a gun and shot James, who was taken to a hospital where he died.

The man was last seen leaving the area on foot, heading east on West Colden Avenue from South Hoover Street.

At a news conference Friday, James’ sister, Joyce O’Quinn, said the killer probably thought he got away with it.

“But he will not escape justice,” she said.

O’Quinn said James left behind four children, whose lives have been derailed in the wake of the killing.

“He was not an absent father, but he is an absent father now,” she said.

She described James as a supportive father who tried to guide his children to be successful.

“Our entire family is hurting because of the senseless murder of Paul T,” she said.

David O’Quinn, James’ older brother, called him a loyal and honest friend.

“He was a man’s man,” he said.

L.A. City Councilman Bernard C. Parks urged the public to step forward.

“I think it’s important that we as a community lend our aid,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the LAPD's Criminal Gang Homicide Division at (213) 485-1383.

— Nicole Santa Cruz

Photo: Joyce O’Quinn addresses the media Friday morning at the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Street Community Police Station. Credit: Nicole Santa Cruz