LA County deputies ask for help solving drive-by shooting that killed teen

Homicide detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department asked for help locating the people responsible for killing a 14-year-old boy in a drive-by shooting last year. 

Deputies said Elijah Le'chon Novelle Davenport was sitting in a parked car with a friend when a black four-door sedan drove up to them in the 13100 block of Jarvis Avenue on Feb. 28, 2025. 

An occupant in the black sedan fired multiple shots into the driver's side of the car and killed Davenport. 

"My son was loved, he was important. He deserved to live and we deserve justice," mother Mercedes Roberson said. "I will continue to fight every single day because I'm his mother and he mattered and he deserved a chance."  

Investigators believe the suspects mistakenly identified Davenport as a rival gang member amid escalating violence between the groups. 

"We want accountability for what happened to him," younger sister Z'Khiyah Roberson said. "We want his life to matter beyond the circumstances of his death. Elijah deserved to grow up."

Surveillance video showed the black sedan driving on Main Street from Imperial Highway before the deadly shooting. Investigators asked anyone in the area with additional surveillance, dash cam or cellphone footage to send the videos to the LA County Sheriff's Department.

"Please help us bring justice to his tragic murder by providing information," Lt. Steven De Jong said. "If anybody recognizes the black vehicle that we have in our photographs, please call Sheriff's Homicide Bureau and help us solve this heinous crime."

Deputies asked anyone with information on the case to call homicide detectives at (323) 890-5500. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers through (800) 222-8477.