A notorious former LA gangster turned gang peacemaker will not be charged in an alleged murder plot — but his son wasn’t so lucky, according to a new report.
62-year-old Clifford “Skipp” Townsend was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday outside his nonprofit organization, 2nd Call, by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division.
Townsend was arrested alongside Lenita Sinna Dee Lewis, Shamond “Lil AD” Bennet, Nichole Aaliyah Smith and Jeremiah Abdelhameed, according to the Los Angeles Times. Townsend was originally held on $2 million bail while the others were at $50,000.
Townsend, however, will not be charged for the crime, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday, citing a defense attorney and three law enforcement sources.
Townsend’s son faces a murder charge instead, according to the outlet.
62-year-old Townsend is a well-known gang interventionist in South Los Angeles and co-founder of a nonprofit organization called 2nd Call, a group that works to broker truce between gangs.
2nd Call was started in 2006 “to save lives by reducing violence and assisting in the personal development of high-risk individuals, proven offenders, ex-felons, parolees, and others who society disregards,” according to the organization’s website.
The nonprofit also has contracts nearing $700,000 with the city of Los Angeles and during the massive construction of SoFi Stadium, 2nd Call partnered to enroll over 100 formerly incarcerated individuals.
Townsend was part of the Rollin’ 20s Bloods gang for nearly 27 years and his first arrest came at the age of 13 before walking away from the gang life.
“Until I know the case against Skipp and I understand it in detail, this in no way bears any resemblance to the man I know,” a gang expert at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Jorja Leap told The Times.
One prominent LA activist, Najee Ali, also said Townsend was “that one person you could rely on.”
The news comes after a 51-year-old 2nd Call worker named Reginald Foreman was fatally shot back in August.
Foreman was removing weeds when a masked man chased and fired a bullet into his chest. Police have not announced a connection between his dєatᩚh and the reported charges against Townsend’s son.
