City Posts $25,000 Reward

By Blair Clarkson
Staff Writer

April 14 -- The City Council authorized a $25,000 reward on Tuesday for information or evidence leading to the capture of any suspects responsible for the City's lone homicide last year.

Jalonnie D. Carter, a 19-year-old Pico Neighborhood resident, was gunned down on September 2, in a back alley of the 1800 block of 20th street. Although police arrested a suspect in connection with the slaying, the District Attorney did not have enough evidence to charge him with Carter's homicide.

After exhausting all available leads, the Police Department now hopes the hefty reward will provide enough incentive for someone with vital information to step forward.

"The reality is that there are only certain circumstances where rewards are very effective," said Police Chief James T. Butts, Jr. "One is the case where you have the strong belief that there were other people present that may have observed what happened.

"The other is the circumstance where you believe the crime is such that the perpetrators talked about it with others," he said. "By their nature, these types of slayings are the kind that perpetrators tend to talk about. So this case falls into both."

Carter's mother, Shirley Joseph, who pressed the police department to open an anonymous tip line and to increase the original $1,000 reward, was encouraged by the Council's decision.

"I hope it does some good," Joseph said. "Something has to be done on this. They haven't had any leads yet and haven't had anybody call the tip line. I know that a lot of people are scared to talk to the police. A thousand dollars is not enough for somebody to come forward."

Joseph believes the truth is well known but that fears of retribution are keeping people's mouths shut.

"Somebody knows something," she said, "but they're not telling because they're afraid. A lot of parents are not speaking up. Hopefully this reward will help."

Soon after Carter's murder, police arrested 21-year-old Arthur Archuletta in connection with the killing. Although there was insufficient evidence to charge him with the crime, Archuletta remains in police custody for parole violations.

"While we feel very strongly that we have focused on a suspect in this crime," said Butts, "we need more corroborating evidence. It's an ongoing investigation, but we feel we have very strong leads in this case and we'll continue to follow up on it."

The crime-prone area where Carter was killed was the site of five other shootings between May and June of 2003. No one was injured in those shootings.

Anyone with information regarding the incident should to call the Robbery/Homicide Unit of the Santa Monica Police Department at 310-458-8451 or the Watch Commander's Office at 310-458-8426.