The Homicide Report

A story for every victim

The Homicide Report

Sean McKinley, 25

Feb. 15, 2010, 10:59 a.m.

Sean McKinley, a 25-year-old black man, was shot and killed Sunday, Feb. 7, in the 1700 block of North Castlegate Avenue in Compton, authorities said.

Details about McKinley's killing remain sketchy, but Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies said they were called to the 1700 block of Castlegate Avenue, near the junction of the 710 and 105 freeways, about 7 p.m. A woman was also injured in the incident.

Both people were taken to the hospital, where McKinley was pronounced dead. The woman was treated for an injury that was not considered life-threatening, according to the Sheriff’s Department. Detectives believe the killing is gang-related.

--Rich Connell

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65 reader comments

@Sid,
What are you talking about? The gun laws in the US do exactly what you say. You can't get a gun if you have a criminal record. The process to get a gun takes time and most of us can forget about getting a concealed weapon permit, that's mostly for ex-military, ex-law enforcement or people who hunt on a regular basis. Plus, just because you are a hunter doesn't mean you can carry a concealed weapon. There is no way to raid houses unless the police have probable cause. This isn't some communist country where the government can just walk into your house and do whatever they please. It's already illegal to be in a gang, have you heard of a gang injunction? Probably not. What are your million ways of ending the gangs in LA? Everyone has choices. People make the right and wrong ones everyday. Don't dump on the US, we are not ignorant at all. We have a freedom here that most people will never have. Yes we pay a price for that freedom, but that's why people want to come here so badly. The government doesn't control us. The people who have guns are getting them illegally anyway. You should learn about the US so that when you bash this country, you won't sound so ignorant. You have no idea what you are talking about.

— Ms. Lee Oct. 18, 2013 at 5:59 a.m.

-Syscom3,

Above you mentioned that you used this blog to do a presentation at your junior college. After that you taunted someone by saying "I bet you haven't done anything close to that." It's just rude. Also, I see the same posting you make over and over again, saying you took CJ101 at your junior college. Is that the only kind of education you've had? It sure seems like it. It also seems like your instructor for the course once mentioned that gang members occasionally have sociopathic tendencies, and you used that to shuffle all gang members into that category.

Like I've said before, if you have credits from your junior college, why don't you use them to transfer to a 4 year. That way you will be able to take lots of classes that force you to gain different perspectives on all walks of life. One CJ101 class does not an expert make.

— A Aug. 27, 2012 at 1:07 p.m.

These comments take me from every range of emotion! I am a close family member of Sean McKinley and I can say that he was not a saint, but for someone to say because of that he got what he deserved is absolutely mind boggling to me!! I truly hope his mother my aunt didnt read any of this before her passing and if she did I am sure it added to the pain she suffered as a result of his death! Its so easy for is to write people off as a menace to society and they got what they deserved but no one remembers the good or sees the good in people! We are truly in our last days and we all have our own crosses to bear but we as a people are so busy trying to say what the next person is doing wrong to make ourselves seem so much better! No matter what a person does in life it is NEVER acceptable to take a life!! Sean is dead now, whatever he did in life has been dealt with through his GOD! Believe that because what you all DO NOT know he did repent and confess his sins before death! I truly hope his murder(ers) do the same and all you that are passing judgment do the same also! Let he who is without sin cast the first stone!! Well since no one on earth is without sin, none of you should be throwing your stones!! God be with you all! Make it right before its too late!

— concerned Jan. 19, 2012 at 12:44 p.m.

tha problem here is most of you dont personally know tha victim... so it's easy to write it off as "oh he was gangbangin"... but what about tha people who know him beyond bangin?? I wont say any names but your insensative comments aren't needed... because when tha bullet comes out tha gun it has no name on it... and one day you (syscom3 and Meck) might have to come to tha HOOD... and if someone murders you and they classify it as GANG RELATED then lets see tha comments that we leave on yo page... bottom line INNOCENT people and GUILTY die out here... you can die here too then what??? did you deserve it because you had no business in my neighborhood??? we are human first remember that!!! i know why ya'll do what you do.. you guys try to make it look like there is a reason for everyones death so that you may feel that if you make no mistakes you won't end up at tha hands of violence... but its all around here... if you live here long enough you will experience it... theres no way around it...

— kid Dec. 13, 2011 at 5:57 p.m.

@ Richie you sound more than foolish...Culture of poverty and an enslaved mind can follow a family for generations and in minorirties classes that exactly what continues to happen...Pumping money into a community does not solve the problems it only helps those that are in office profit...What is the last thing that has been done in the city of COmpton that you can honestly say was for the people?...you can't..they even cancelled the Compton Christmas parade due to money issues...That's sad...Even if witnesses come forward and testify does that solve the issues?...Remember this...Black Panther Party attempted to feed black children in before school and J E Hoover deemed them a threat to American policy...because statistics show that if a person(OF ANY COLOR) eat breakfast they are able to concentrate and will most likely do better in school...HENCE MORE COLLEGE BOUND STUDENTS(OF ALL COLORS)...so before you go a rampage make sure you are ready to defend such shallow points....

— FOol Dec. 12, 2011 at 10:55 a.m.

compton chick,
I agree with some of what you say. I am the daughter of a murderer. If I said his name everyone on this site would go OMG!! I loved my father as a child and even into my teenage years. He was the most important thing to me. Then my world was shattered when i found out what he did. No a part of you does not stop loving your family member. But the family members left to pick up the pieces do not forget who this person is either and what he did. All society ask for is your ability to be fair and open and to talk about this person honestly. They do not want us to come out so strong and say things like what a wonderful, loving, caring, respectful father he was to me. How he always showed me love and was tender to me. What he did that day when he killed so many was awful and I can't just wish that away. He needed to pay for his crime and he is. He needed to take responsibility for his actions and he did. I also need to take responsibility for my words and when I speak of the man that I once loved. It would be foolish for me to defend the man I love on this site or any other and for me to defend his character. Too many people were hurt by his actions. Too many people still suffer from his actions. That's all society wants from the family of the "bad" person remember him but also remember who he was and what he did. I have read this blog for some time. And I often want to write out. But realize that writing out opens many wounds and those feelings although I'm involved are not mine to open. Love your man as most of these blogs are men but be painfully honest as to who they were and what they did. Tell on this site how you loved him but always acknowledge that he might not have been as loving to society and always having the ability to say the truth. To be honest would go so far for the healing

— Been there July 22, 2011 at 5:56 p.m.

Oddly enough I know either the people who were murdered or the persons related to the barbershop and Sean...
There is a place to talk about gang violence, street justice and all that; but as human beings, we need to be considerate of the forum in which we comment. I would hate if my child was involved in the gang life; more importantly, I would hate if they hurt or killed someone...but trust and believe, no matter what they did, they would still have my love...I'm their mother. When violence knocks on your door you gain a different perspective of the murdered and the murderer. You start to investigate, the "whys and how coulds?" If we're going to quote scripture, David was an adulterer and murderer, yet he is in the geneology of Jesus; Paul was also a murderer; a straight up Hit man, yet he was called to serve; who are we to say what God forgives and doesn't forgive? We should not take God's grace for granted; yet we must still remember His grace and mercy. Most of Sean's friends and loved ones posted in their time of grieving; the other comments about gangs and hell could've just waited. Have a heart people!

— compton chick July 21, 2011 at 2:11 p.m.

Sheba take this in mind all the people I mentioned in the hr report all have happend to to be killed in the same general area . 3 of them belongd to the same gang . Compton is not very big . 2 people were cousins and the 3 people in the barbershop the 3 people have been caught very true.But think somethings just dont happen theyre reasons to why they happen .Truth is Ive never gang banged but that doesnt mean i dont know bangers .Trust I know every single person on here and have come in to contact stood and the same rooms spoken with and know whole families related to the people that i know on hr .This is nothing im proud of it hurts .They are people and they are not conversations pieces .some of them were near and dear to me.But i hate for people to think one thing when it was a totally dofferant thing .Just because some of them banged doesnt make them bad people .But it its what is . just know there are more things in common with all the people i know in this report .

— tired April 10, 2011 at 11:11 a.m.

Tired
I think that you are a liar. I don.t believe you have known any of these people on the homicide report. I think your name is one of the alias that syscom3 uses to make it look like she has people agreeing with her prejudice remarks. I have read things you have said and it does not come from someone who has lived in the urban area even if they stayed away from gangs. So first of all you are not from the hood. Your are not black or latino. I dont gang bang, no one in my family or distant family gang bang. I know law enforcement who deal with gang clean ups and I have asked them plenty of questions. They have told me that when it say's gang related it does not mean that both parties involved are in gangs. When it say's that someone was a documented gang member that means they were either actively in a gang at the time of their death or at sometime in their life even if they got out of the gang, they partisipated in gang activity. Do I live in a city where there is gang violence yes. Almost every city in Calif has gang activity whether it is want to be gang members or real gang members. I just hate it when someone like you who make up in your mind that you kn ow what you are talking about when you don't. and please don't talk about what God does because the bible says a liar will not tarry in his sight.

— Sheba Jan. 6, 2011 at 5:31 p.m.

Point taken ........At most the things that i've siad are hear say. and nothing more ......as far as dry snitching i havent siad anything . i just hate for people to get looked at and talked about like they are "INNOCENT Victims" when in fact most of them were living the gang lifestlye .NOT LOOKING FOR A REWARD I WOULD NEVER DO THAT . THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT PEOPLE CRY AND SHED TEARS FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO MAY OR MY NOT HAVE SPREAD HEART ACHE AND SARROW TO OTHERS. ANYONE WHO GANG BANGS IS A TERRORIST AND ANYONE WHO KNOWINGLY CONDONES AND FEELS IT'S ALRIGHT FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE THIS LIFE . SHOULD BE TREATED AS ENEMIES OF THE STATE .like i stated before i knew 8 people in this homocide report and that hurts me to say .Some Iknew since grade school some since adult hood.

— tired June 16, 2010 at 6:35 p.m.

Sean Mckinley AKA Knocckles from Mob Piru....It's funny how people think they know somebody .I've been reading the Homocide report for about a year .And there are about 8 people I know on this List . All of them Gang members .A good freind of mines was killed april 7,2009 Willie Brown aka YG Lil Skip leuders Park piru .He Got Killed in the park . The 3 people that got killed behind the barbershop the only one that was the victim was the Girl also take in mind that they were killed in a trap house (place where drugs are sold) the 2 men where from Mob Piru .Marceleno Petaway aka Mousey from Leuders Park Piru the list goes on . Drexler aka bad news he was from leuders park piru and Aaron killed to blocks and 2 weeks before drex in inglewood was from Atlantic Drive Compton Crip.Even though they were gang members they are human being and no one has the right to take a life,No ones perfect but Life is What you make .They all were good people in theyre on right but terrorists of the community . Regradless of the good they did or how much bad. May they All rest in peace may god have mercy on they're souls

— tired June 15, 2010 at 10:04 a.m.

@Syscom 3, first of all u don't know me and the feeling is mutual, I personally knew this man on a very intimate level and can say he DID NOT gang bang. I am a very educated person in the process of getting my B.A. in criminal justice and have 2 young girls who dealt with Sean and his family as well. I would not have them around someone of that nature, and further more, he was not the young man who had kids or baby momma's. Like prior people have stated on this blog, you need to gather all of your details 1st before u comment on people that you may/may not know very well. I am further more disturbed at your ignorance to even comment on the dealings of gangs and gang related shootings. Like in a forementioned statement an innocent person can be killed and never have any gang dealings and be shot by a gang dealer and they call the shooting "gang related". Know the facts and remember this statement: PEOPLE WILL NEVER KNOW YOUR IGNORANCE UNTIL YOU OPEN UP YOUR MOUTH!!!!!

— Shonn March 3, 2010 at 12:12 p.m.

Sorry to disappoint you Catalina, but I am not a troll. I've been commenting on this blog for a couple years now.

Me being a fool? Uneducated? Nope. I don't fit in either of those categories.

BTW, I did use this homicide blog as part of a class project in one of my criminal justice classes at my local junior college. The blog was very well received by the instructor and the students. Can you say you did something equal too or better than that?

"Knowledge", the purpose of the blog is for people to comment on the murder of people. Whether its something nice about the victim, something bad about the victim, or just commentary. If you only want the niceties, then you're not going to find it here. The obituaries is the place for you.

As for the large numbers of black and Latino victims being gunned down for no apparent reason, not even for robbery; there are other dynamics at work.

I have been reading this blog for a couple of years now, and I accept that some victims were shot down for no reason by gangsters. But there are LOTS of victims where they ultimately did have gang ties, gangster friends or served time in custody. They were gunned down for a reason. Although that reason is only known by the gunman.

Perhaps its a sign of the times, but when family and friends say the deceased was a good man, without gang ties, I prefer them to prove it to the readers of the blog. That's the way it is.

— syscom3 Feb. 28, 2010 at 6:11 p.m.

Everyone needs to ignore syscom3. In the world of blogging, he is known as a troll. Someone who goes from blog to blog with the sole purpose of stirring up negativity. If you don't feed the animal, he goes away.

The term gang-related means either the victim or the assailant is believed to be affiliated with street gangs. A lot of times, this judgment is made because the area is a known gang area and there was no other obvious explanation for the killing. Other times, the assailants hits the victim up before the killing, by saying, where you from? You say you don't bang, and you are shot. You acknowledge where you are from and you are shot.

To his point about this not being an obituary site, just simply look at the way the Times decided to lead you into leaving a comment. It says,

SHARE A MEMORY OF SEAN MCKINLEY. This is a place for people who want to do just that. Often, based on the comment, the Times' reporters will contact you to do a feature on the person, based on what is written. I write this because we reently lost a good friend and was contacted.

RIP Sean

— Knowledge Feb. 25, 2010 at 10:43 p.m.

Syscom reread what I wrote, read it carefully and slow. No one said the victim did not have any gang ties in the past, it said the victim was refusing to be in that life style of gangbanging. But people have been killed will be killed that are not in gangs and that are innocent. I dont know if you remember in 2009 when three black young people were killed behind a barbar shop in compton it's in the homicide report and everybody thought that they had been doing something wrong. The investagators found out the killers 2 brothers, mother was in jail and they needed bail money and went to rob those young people who they did not know, who were innocent read updates from LA Now and other papers on past cases, everyone is not guilty. Any of us at anytime can be a victim of violence, eventhough we are not living a life of violence. We live in a fallen world.

— Sheba Feb. 22, 2010 at 11:09 a.m.

sheba, this is not the obituaries "page". If you cant handle a forthright discussion of the subject of this blog, then you shouldn't be reading it.

The deceased was gunned down for a reason. Perhaps there's something in his past that has caught up with him. Maybe he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. God knows and hopefully the investigating detectives will figure it out.

If anyone has read this blog for quite a while, then one thing you cannot help but take notice of, is so many of the murdered people ultimately did have gang ties or sympathies either in the past, or in the present.

And when the victims family or friends proclaim the victim to not have any gang ties, I just nod my head "sure ..... now lets see who has some words to say to the contrary".

— syscom3 Feb. 21, 2010 at 6:43 p.m.