LOS ANGELES, Calif.–The 67-year-old owner of an Inglewood night club was shot to death early today while sitting in his car–reportedly a white $300,000 Rolls Royce–outside his home in the Crenshaw District.
The shooting occurred around 2:30 a.m. in the 4200 block of Hillcrest Drive, said Officer Lyle Knight of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations office. The man died at a hospital, said assistant chief Ed Winter of the coroner’s office.
He was identified in broadcast reports as Alonzo Ester, who owned the Dynasty Restaurant and Lounge in Inglewood.
According to a preliminary investigation, the man was sitting in his vehicle when another man walked up to the passenger side and shot him twice, Knight said.
LAPD Capt. Vito Palazzolo told ABC7 that police were unsure of a motive for the crime.
“The investigation is continuing,” Palazzolo said. “We did have witnesses that heard the shots, and we have some reports that an African American male was seen leaving the location. And that’s basically what we have at this time.
“We have a lot of work to do still. We are following up a number of leads and trying to piece it together, where he was coming from and what happened, what transpired.”
Joseph Wright, the victim’s brother, told Channel 7 his brother had left the nightclub shortly before the shooting.
He said he didn’t know if his brother was robbed.
“I have no idea, was anything taken or not,” Wright said. “Shock to the family. They called me up this morning about 6 o’clock and told me, my sisters called me from Dallas to let me know that it had happened, they knew about it, I didn’t. He came from the club.”
Police said the gunmen fled in a dark-colored sedan. But the Los Angeles Times quoted police as saying that the victim’s wife heard a single gunshot and saw a man run away.
The victim owned a black and a white Rolls Royce and was driving the white one, which was in front of his home when he was shot and then rolled into a neighbor’s house across the street, The Times reported.
