Los Angeles County prosecutors declined yesterday to immediately file any charges against a 23-year-old man arrested in connection with the shooting death of a year-old girl in Compton, asking instead that the sheriff’s department conduct more investigation into the killing.
Ray Howard Patterson has been held without bail since his arrest around 2:30 p.m. Monday near Bullis Road and Rosecrans Avenue in Compton. It was not immediately clear if Patterson, who has a criminal record and is already facing charges in a separate case, would be released from jail. He had been set to appear in a Compton courtroom today.
Autumn Johnson was asleep in a crib around 7 p.m. Feb. 9, when the driver of a blue four-door Chevrolet Impala stopped in front of the converted garage where her family lived in the 300 block of North Holly Avenue, according to the sheriff’s department. A man got out and opened fire, and the baby was shot in the face.
Sheriff’s deputies rushed her to St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, but doctors were unable to save the infant.
Investigators said there were two men in the car, which was last seen being driven south on Holly Avenue. They believe the shooting was gang-related and that the infant’s father was likely the target of the shooting. The search is continuing for the driver of the car.
News of Patterson’s arrest came just hours after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors formalized a $25,000 reward.
