Dispatch: "History Repeating"

As a child, Michael Lynn Presley II knew the path to his father's gravesite by heart. His mother  brought him there each week. "Go find Daddy!" she would say, and the excited toddler would run into the graveyard and select his father's headstone from the others without hesitation.

Presley never knew his father in life: The elder Michael Lynn Presley, below left, was shot to death on June 23, 1987 in Los Angeles at the age of 27. Now, Michael Lynn Presley II has followed him. The younger Presley, 19, was murdered on July 15 of this year in the 4500 block of West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Southwest Los Angeles.

Anyone who reads this page regularly has noticed homicides piling up in minority enclaves south of the 10 Freeway, while other areas are left nearly completely untouched. Blacks, particularly, suffer homicide with brutal frequency, and the Presley's story is a vivid example of one consequence: Some families must endure more than one murder.

Presley was in the street talking to a young woman, whose mother was nearby in a parked car, leaning on the steering wheel, the family said. The suspects, two black men and a light-skinned black or Latino man in a dark compact car, drove up. Two of them got out and shot Presley. Presley's friends tried to take him to the hospital, but made it only a short distance before paramedics met them and took over.

Presley's mother got there in time to see her son for a moment before they took him away. He was on a gurney, barely conscious. He died later at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Presley had graduated from Daniel Murphy Catholic High School, and was a full-time Cal State Northridge student majoring in criminal justice and psychology who also held down a job at the Target store in Northridge. He was tall like his father --6-foot-4 --  with braided hair, and proud of the car he had recently bought with his earnings. He wanted to be an attorney.

"Like history repeating," the mother said last week, after burying her son on top of his father in the same grave he used to visit as a child. When her husband was murdered, she had her pregnancy, and then her son, to command her attention. This time, with her son murdered, she has no toddler to take to the gravesite, and it is more difficult, she said.

Southwest Dets. Rick Gorden and Vince Carreon seek any information from the public on this case. They can be reached at (213)485-2417.

Comments

[angel]

My heart breaks for this youngmans family. I do not have any children, but I do have a nephew who is 20 years old. He does not live in Los Angeles. When he comes to visit, I am never relaxed until he leaves. He would love to move here, but I have discouraged him from doing so. It is sad to say that a young black man's life is not worth much in Los Angeles. It seems the good decent people of this city are the one's that are being harmed. When we hear of a young black man from South Central Los Angeles, assumptions are made: he was in a gang, he was a drug dealer, etc. This man's mother did everything right. He was doing everything riight, going to school and working. The only thing he did "wrong" was to stop and speak to a friend. I pray, I pray that this bloodshed ends. It has to. It must.

[bystander]

Every story on this blog is wrenching, but this one is particularly heartbreaking. To Mr. Presley's mother: I'm so very sorry for BOTH of your losses. No one should have to suffer what you are suffering. How do we stop families from being destroyed like this? Does anyone have solutions?

[Fred]

What a heart renching tragedy. I extend my deepest condolence and prayers to the family, particularly Mrs. Presley. My nephew, Carl Young jr. was murdered on July 30, 2007 in Inglewood. I am beyond tired of the murders of chlidren, youth and adults all across the county and contry. Again my deepest condolences to the family.

[K.Winn]

What does it take to stop the killings? My prayers to the family..especially the mother who has endured more heartache than one person should experience in a lifetime.

[Beth]

My prayers are with you.

[hopeful]

What a tragedy for this mother.

Please young people take heed. The streets of Los Angeles are no joke. Just hanging on the streets at night on the wrong corner can cost you your life. Mothers instill this fear in your young sons and daughters of whatever ethnic background...it is a real threat. My prayers are with you.

[Ana]

What a horrible tragedy. This story made me feel so sad that words can not express my emotions. I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Mrs. Presley and her family. Why are these young men so violent? Why? Why did such an amazing Michael Lynn Presley ll with such a promising future have to die by the hands of thugs? Why?

[Robert]

Does anyone know what time the shooting occurred or any other information surrounding the homicide? Did he know the young woman he was talking with? Is the area he was in an area with heavy gang activity? I'm asking these questions because I am curious about how much risk was involved in his behavior. Late night is riskier than day time. A woman with a crazy boyfriend or crazy gangbanging exboyfriend is riskier than a single girl without either. Certain neighborhoods are infested with gangs and more dangerous than those that aren't.

I'm asking because I'm trying to find ways that I and other young people can avoid exposure to an increased risk of violent crime, including homicide. Maybe if Mike was at least aware of any of this or other information it may have made a difference.

[Shag]

I was just commenting on these senseless killings in the our communities, nationwide. The students in Newark, the editor and others in Oakland. We have more killings in one major city, than they'll have in all our Europe combined. Does that say something about how uncivilized we can be?

[brandon]

My heart goes out to this young man's family and friends for they have sufferd a great loss.It bothers me that every week theres an unnerving amount of murders, especially among the black and latino communities. Theres so many murders that you become indifferent and feeling like" man somebody else got killed! what else is new?" .I my self feel like I'am a target on the steets of los angeles, and I have unfortunately had four of my friends placed on this list, thats four mothers, plus the 300 plus mothers who have their kids taken away from them every year due to senseless violence.Were not allowing each other to live, what is the point of raising a child just to see them taken away before they can even become adults, and enjoy the fruits of life?

[Angel]

Am I wrong in saying we need to bring in the National Guard. That was the best time during the riots, I wasn't afraid of going out and playing with my firiends. I grew up on 25th and central. I had black friends and Mexican friends. I was lucky. I saw my friend get shot. I was so close I had brain matter splattered across me.
I went and got me an education, CSULA Grad, Mechanical Engineering. My dad left when I was 16, but not much loss there. The problem I think is that these kids don't have respect for authority (not the Cartman way of saying by the way). These kids don't know what it feels like to look at the other side of the gun, to have a weapon pointed at their face.
I say we need to stop babying all these bastards. Have a military style education. Have teachers that can smack the curse words out of your mouths. It's not about education. I went through the same school system and 2+2 will always be 4. It's the character that these bastards lack that is bringing our society down. It takes no balls to fire a gun. I hope someone prints that in really big letters. IT TAKES NO BALLS TO FIRE A GUN. "Get your fists up" because that is the true character of a person, how you stand for yourself defines your worth.
Character is what these kids lack. There should be two options for any male or female in our society. School or the Military. One way or the other you will get character.

[mia]

Man im so tired of reading these blogs. I mean at first it was a fine way of letting me know what was going wrong in my city and letting me kno what areas to stay away from but now? its too much. Its gotten too out of hand. All these young black men dying is uncalled for and i am so tired of hearing people rant about how so and so doesnt care about whats going on here. President bush mayor villaraigosa and no other head anything is going to read these blogs so what is the point of constantly calling on them from this website? U want the national guards to help? Do what i did....WRITE TO SOMEONE!!!! Dont rely on this website to get the help you need, write to our officials. If enough people do this then maybe something can finally be done! Whether you live in los angeles or not i think everyone should write at least with all these victims and families in mind. The same thing youd write here? Write to them. Find email addresses and email people. Do everything you can instead of sitting at home fussing about what needs to be done. Thank you

[Anne Diamond]

Like so many other writers here, I was sick with grief for this mom and family, and utterly OUTRAGED about this killing. It appears that this young man was striving to make LA a better place by majoring in criminal justice and psychology. We need more young men and women like this, not for them to be CUT DOWN generation after generation. What an unspeakable tragedy
I am wondering if the Mrs. Jenkins-Presley may be interested in setting up an endowed scholarship at CSUN in Michael's name? is there any way I may be of help in this matter, or any other to the family?
Mrs. Jenkins-Presley, you have been in my thoughts every single day....I will not forget about this, and will continue to bring this social crisis to the attention of our elected leaders.

[Alberto]

Like many people who have posted on this website, I am deeply saddened by what I have been reading. The lives of Latino and African Americans in Los Angeles are being ended at such a young age. I know that growing up in south east los angeles, I saw a good number of my friends go in the wrong direction. I was the only person from my high school to go to U.C. Berkeley, and even there, I was able to see and learn about the problems of homicides in Oakland.
What is very disturbing to hear is how black men are safe in prisons than in their own neighborhoods. That is a horrible realization. I believe there should be more opportunities given to youths of color in neglected underrepresented areas. Many places have been still neglected after the L.A. riots. Its all about increasing educational opportunties for youths of color so that youths can have a better shot at getting a job or going to school, rather than having nothing better to do than be in the streets.
Prison reform and reforms in the criminal justice system is another way to stop placing youths and people of color in jail rather than in schools or in the productive workforce.