Two Long Beach men could face life in 2006 slaying
Orange County prosecutors say two gang members robbed and fatally shot a young actor and injured another person.
Two Long Beach gang members could face life in prison without parole for allegedly killing a young actor and wounding another man outside an Anaheim Denny's two years ago, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Damon Hill, 24, and Jarrell Kelly, 20, were charged with one felony count of murder, one felony count of attempted murder, three felony counts of second-degree robbery, plus sentencing enhancements for gang activity. The two men are serving three-year state prison terms for unrelated crimes.
The suspects confronted the victims at the restaurant in the early morning hours of March 17, 2006, after a night at the nearby Boogie nightclub, according to Orange County prosecutors.
Hill and Kelly, accompanied by several acquaintances, allegedly followed the victims' friends Giovanni Boyd and Dwayne Washington into the Denny's restroom. There Hill and Kelly allegedly identified themselves as gang members, robbing Boyd and Washington at gunpoint and stealing their jewelry and shoes, prosecutors said.
The victims' friend Armand D. Jones , 18, of Long Beach, wondering why Boyd and Washington were gone so long, eventually followed them to the restroom, said Orange County Dist. Atty. spokeswoman Farrah Emami. There, the suspects robbed Jones of a large medallion, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Tim Schmidt. Hill, Kelly and their group allegedly pushed past Jones, running through the restaurant into the Denny's parking lot as Jones chased after them. Outside, Hill and Kelly shot Jones in the chest, prosecutors said. Police believe there were as many as six other people with Hill and Kelly. Jones and the other victim, who survived a gunshot to the head, were not affiliated with gangs, Schmidt said.
Jones staggered back inside the crowded restaurant, where he died "right there in the doorway," Schmidt said.
Jones had recently finished filming a role in the movie "Freedom Writers," starring Hilary Swank, about a teacher working with at-risk students in inner-city Long Beach. The film was released in 2007, after Jones' death.
The 18-and-older nightclub where the young men were partying had lost its liquor license for selling to minors and was a magnet for fights and shootings, generating hundreds of emergency calls, Schmidt said. The Boogie was shuttered shortly after this incident.
Emami said the investigation of the incident is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call Anaheim Police Det. Kerry Condon at (714) 765-1944.
susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com
