Jeffrey Sinclair, 17

Jeffrey Sinclair, 17, a black youth, was shot multiple times at 825 W. 54th Street in LAPD's 77th Street Division at about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20. He was taken to California Hospital, where he died at 9:45 p.m.

His mother was incarcerated; he lived with his grandparents. He had been on his bicycle just before he was attacked. The bicycle fell near him at the homicide scene.

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Comments

[yazmin ur BFFL]

DAM JEFFERY I MISS U ALOT I STILL HAVENT FORGOT ABOUT U
U N UR FAMALY R ALWAYS IN MY PRAYER I MISS N ALWAYS WILL LOVE YOU

I REMEMBER WHN ME N U N OUR BEST FRIEND PRINIS USE TO CHEAT IN OUR TEST IN CLASS EVERY FRIDAY WE USE TO HELP EACH OTHER LOL
BUT THINGS HAPPEN 4 A REASON BUT I WILL ALWAYS LOVE U N LIKE I PROMISED YOU WHN I SEEN YOU AT THE MORTUARY I WILL ALWAYS BE CHEKING UP ON YOUR FAMALY TO SEE HOW THEY DOING .AND BEST FRIEND I KEPT MY PROMISE EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE I CHEK TOP SEE HOW THEY DOING
WELL ILL TALK TO U LATERZ LUV U

SING,
YAZMIN UR BFFL

[mommy]

Happy birthday Jeffrey , I love you so much Jeffrey. It is not a day that goes by that I don't cry about you. I think about you alllllll the time you alway brought joy and comfort to my heart. Even when you did not listen: I love you so much. I love you so muchhhhh!!!! God wanted you more than me. I know you are in better place, now you are spreading you joy and comfort to him.
.Just conitnue to spread peace and joy to our family and watch over brothers and protect them. I will never forget you. we miss you. I LOVE YOU SON !!!!!!!!

[auntie]

I haven't forgot about you, today is your birthday you are always in my prayer and I know you your resting in peace. Continue to watch over our family , we miss you so much. I am glad you are in a better place.

[aunt]

to all the family we loved jeffery,but god loved him better,it hurts we did not want to let him go .he will always be in our hearts.god looked down & saw a flower he wanted foe himself,we know GOD DOES NOT MAKE MISTAKES,thank GODfot the years we had with him ,my prayers goes to the all . a family that prays together stay,s together.love youe aunt eula .

[genean r.]

hey jeff ...long time ...i m just here too say hi i guess we all miss you at shcool ...i love you jeff ....

[autie]

The demons who commited this cowardly crime will have to face GOD on judgement day. Jeff-jeff will be miss but never forget. He was a great kid. I dedicate this song called THUGS MANSION BY 2PAC. Also I dedicated this song to all the people on this blog who lost there life. Thanks to all the people who wrote comments about Jeff and thanks to every who prayed for us and continue to pray for our family. God bless the family who lost there love ones to this senceless crimes.
The people who like to kill and be in gangs should sign up for Army or Marines and be ship to Iraq RIGHT AWAY.

[Max]

to suburbia and cmoreclearly:

You are right. There is a secret cabal of anti-blacks that work to constantly undermine black people. However, contrary to your beliefs, It's not white people, it is people like you. People who disseminate baseless conspiracy theories that directly attribute to the sense of powerlessness and hopelessness that are leading causes of criminality in the first place. People who encourage those with problems to avoid personal responsibilty and blame society for all their own shortcomings.

Do you really think that white people are less inundated with drugs, alcohol and guns than are blacks? These things are readily available to any and all people in America. Believe me, as a white person I can tell you that there is no shortage of drunk, drugged, gun-toting white folk in the world. You are prejudiced in your belief that all white people live in a sitcom "Leave it to Beaver" reality. That viewpoint is every bit as prejudiced as believing that all black people live in a blaxploitation "Shaft" reality.

As far as the crack-pot notion that all kinds of white on white murders are going unreported, where are all the supposed white victims going? Do you think that all the families of these supposed victims are simply content to keep their tragedies secret and bury them in the backyard without so much as a peep in the media? Wait, what about the other big complaint that crimes involving white victims get so much more media attention?

The single greatest flaw, however, in your ideology is egotism. You incorrectly assume that since you are obessessed with the fortunes of people with your label (black) that the entire world is equally obsessed with their fortunes (or misfortunes as it were). Do you really think that anyone cares that much? Believe me, all but the most deranged white people have far better things to obessess about than "how am I going to keep the black man down today".

The problem is that your entire identity is defined by a label, the label being your race. You may not have put that label on yourself but you have built your entire sense of identity around that label (black).

When another who shares that label with you commits a crime you feel that it reflects upon you. You feel that, in some way, because you share the label (black) with that criminal or degenerate you too are guilty of the crime. Unable to reconcile that imaginary sense of guilt with your own concious you must avert percieved blame. In your confused mind you feel that you share more in common with the criminal than a label (black), you believe that he is a part of yourself, and as a part of yourself you must defend yourself against imagined injustice.

So you avert blame to those that are not a part of your label. Even though no one of another label was involved in the atrocity you create a convoluted explanation to divert your imagined guilt. Why? What, beside skin color, do you share with that murderer or criminal?

[KPBlake]

Cmoreclearly is a bigot. To think that someone has such a narrow mind attributes to the problems like senseless shootings. His racist views are reason why police in the L.A. area cannot make headway in these crimes. And none the less arounf the U.S. in the last 60years. One person said that this child was 17 and knew better. At 17 did you know what you know now? Jeffery Sinclair didn’t ask to live in a high crime area nor did he asked to be shot. The only good thing that can come of this is that now he is walking with the lord. Once again something that he didn’t ask for but received.

[suburbia]

Some of what is stated on here is correct but much of it is based on the non-reporting of violent crimes within white communities.

Much of the "cultural acceptance and/or casual attitudes towards violence" that was mentioned comes from films glorifying violence. These films are created on the premise of crimes resulting in elimination. Many depict the acceptance of violence as a viable means of solution for an adversary.

When kids are raised in a community where violence is the norm and vicious acts are the fabric of their life, and that attitude is reinforced in film and/or television with no favorable conditions to offset or lend balance to their lives, they fall under the tutelage of life imitating art or the 'street life'.

Single parent homes aren't the only families affected by "peer pressure," but when the same behavior occurs outside of the black community, it is termed "a good kid turned bad" and various influences are offered as the culprit such as rock music, crystal meth or some other 'logical' conclusion that seeks to explain the child's issue as more of a behavioral problem.

The way a white story is reported, when it is reported, is altered immeasurably using certain code words that implore the white listener to "put themselves in the place of ... " and so the perpetrator is no longer viewed as a criminal but a victim of circumstances beyond his control.

Not so when news stories of black kids are aired. Most in the community come away thinking how glad they are that the monster isn't their child. See the difference? It's a powerful play on words to which you weren't meant to relate.

While the white child is seen as someone who was uncharacteristically swayed by the same set of factors influencing the black kid (movies, video games, theaters, tv, etc.), these factors aren't weighted when talking about black kids going astray because the natural belief is that their depravity runs deeper and the "bad seeds" are thought of as societal cancers both outside and within the community. There is no discussion about the effects of the black kid's environment and no therapeutic remedies are prepared and put into place because treatment of his condition isn't an option. He is black and therefore a potential threat leading to criminalization.

What was stated by one person has the ring of a central tenet on which white supremacy has been based for decades. That process of reasoning that infers all black 'kids' would have the same reactions to certain situations is an unfair analysis. Do you see how one, reading what you have written might conclude that you are mentally flawed and that your remarks do a disservice to those ignorant enough to not know any better?

If the airwaves were ever to own and report the truth, society would be shocked about the cover-up of crimes taking place in suburbia. The press is so slanted in its reporting of crimes and remiss about relaying crime information about their own, that they even went so far as to say the recent mall killer was himself "about as pure a victim as the victims he murdered." Supposedly he fell into a group of 'recently troubled white guys'.

I have witnessed whites on white crimes that never made the news and never will because the reporting of these crimes are asymmetrical and unequal in the eyes of society and would take away the very emphasis that blacks are stereotypically inferior and blind us to fallible hypotheses of all humanity.

[DAMARIO]

man u was my nigga man is just so many haters that like putin niggas down cuz rest ip my nigga jeffrey u was a great friend man

[Sky Valley]

I'm just a white guy a thousand miles away from LA, but I take one look at the photo of this young man, and read just a couple lines about his death, and I feel an immeasurable amount of grief. My best wishes to his grandparents, and his family and friends in these sad times. Peace.

[GENEAN ROBINSON]

what can i say bout this????? ... jeff you was a great friend to many of us ...many of us thought of you more than a friend we thought of you as one of are bothers ...jeffery you will be missed by me and other at school or even at your house ...not a day go by without me think about how we use to kick it in school i can never say i had a probelm with you since you started that school not once have WE had an problem ...i love jeff i'm sorry you had to go like this ...your fiend forever genean well to you (gelean )

[another view]

prayers to the grandparents of the young man and may g*d be with you during your untimely bereavement. pardon the impropriety, but the absence of the father led me to speculate that he too was a victim of crime since the article only mentions his mother, who is incarcerated.
i cannot deny the institution of racism because its literal meaning denotes imbalance. however, can i assuredly say that poverty leads to crime and one-sided wealth feeds on the needs of the have nots and this is significant enough to self-hate, a predisposition that must be present in those who kill their own? i don't know. what excuse surmises the schemes of those whose hood skills are used as a means to murder?
to be sure, there does seems to be an influx of alcohol, drugs, and guns that lead to combustible behavior in communities of color that is largely unheard of in areas outside of the inner city. is the growing number of black youth dying indicative of visual myopia in terms of that which constitutes the good life? maybe. leaving aside the wide-eyed fantastical and grandiosity that seems to celebrate celebrity drug addiction and the libidinous behaviors of rappers while propagating their get-rich-quick mantra, do the numbers dictate a pandemic that says there is more beneath the surface of black on black crime of which we are totally ignorant? maybe.
if there is any truth to the claim that it is not by coincidence but by design, i for one would welcome the powers investigating, and resolving the issues before blood spills outside of the inner city and flows through our streets and into our homes. any child lost at any age to violence and senseless murder is an offense that cuts to the core but if there is a systemic plan in place to eradicate them, let’s hope their community leaders will step forward swiftly and with an alternative and lifelong strategy to instill something of value that outweighs and negates crime in an effort to reverse their obliteration before more succumb. cmoreclearly’s comments may have shown a lack of prudence, in the face of a life lost, but they certainly caused reflection.

[wilma]

WOW! CMORECLEARLY ... I RECEIVED THE SAME INFO THRU A YAHOO E-MAIL. HOPE YOU WEREN'T SHARING THIS AS AN ORIGINL THOUGHT, THIEF!!!!

[LADY]

THIS KILLING NEED TO STOP.THIS WAS A BEAUTIFUL & RESPECTABLE CHILD . WHEN HE CAME TO MY HOUSE IT WAS YES SIR & YES MADAM.JEFFERY WAS VERY QUIET AND ALWAYS LISTEN. I TOLD MY SON THAT CHILD HAS BEEN RAISED.HE CAN COME BACK OVER ANYTIME. AND HE DID JUST THAT.TO HAVE A KID COME AND SIT AT YOUR DINNER TABLE TO EAT,AN A WEEK LATER MURDERED DOWN IN THE STREET IS SAD. MY SON AND JEFF WAS REALLY GOOD FRIENDS. ME AND MY HUSBAND WAS SHOCK TO HEAR THE PHONE RING AND THEY SAID HE DIED.MY SON LOOKED SO LOST. HE JUST HELD HIS HEAD DOWN AND DROPPED SOME TEARS...... SAYING , HE DIDN'T MESS WITH NOBODY. IT WAS ONLY 30 MINUTE THEY HAD JUST LEFT EACH OTHER.... WHAT HAPPENED MOMA ??????? HE SAID

[windu]

First, my condolences to those who mourn Jeffrey.

So much nonsense being written. The problem is simple. Cultural acceptance of, and casual attitudes towards violence. Not just criminal violence, but also what is seen as self-defense or justifiable violence in response to various things. It is seen as highly moral to suggest that someone "needs his ass whupped" or "will catch a beatdown" for mishbehavior. These sorts of attitudes and statements lead young people to see violence as a reasonable and acceptable response in cases where other cultures might go no further than "the finger" and some name-calling, at worst.

Pop Quiz: Someone bumps into you in the mall, and says nothing. Do you A) ignore it, B) say "excuse me!" but keep walking, C) stop, call them a profane name, but walk off if he responds belligerently, D) same as C but don't walk off and fight if necessary, or E) immediately push him and let the games begin, even using a weapon if he fights back? If you are black, ask yourself honestly what the lower income black demographic in LA would say are acceptable responses. There's your answer.

[Jan J]

Reading articles about the senseless deaths of our young people leaves me in great distress and sadness. It is correct that something should be done, but what. It is easy to talk about the problem, but it is difficult to get our politicians and police force to act. It is time communities take back their streets by taking their complaints to their public officials. I was once told that you do better because you know better. I am sure that we all know better no matter where we were raised. Life is no longer valued because the children are raising children and some adults are acting like children; therefore, it is hard to tell who is raising whom. I can only pray that citizens step up to the plate like they did during slavery and the "Jim Crow" era. Common people made a difference by not allowing drugs, crime, dicrimmination and abuse destroy their lives and communties. Times have not changed, people have changed by looking away when they see crime or by accepting that things will not change. As a woman who grew up in the south during the era of segregation, I am so glad that we had brave citizens who never saw their status as an obstacle. We would not be where we are today if it was not for courageous individuals. I can only pray for the family of Jeffrey Sinclair. We need to change our way of thinking people.

[cheryl]

i dont even know this young man but he looks like a handsome young man as a african american mother i know how it feels to lose your son mines was murdered on vernon and western on10-2-06 and he was not involved in any gang i have lived in the same area for 20yrs now and i raised 4 sons and a daughter all in the same area i tell you the reason why i did not pick up and leave is because it is hard for our young men to just go about every day life without being harrassed about where they are from these cowards that killed my son where caught on 51st and vermont hours after killing my son and they are much older then him mind you my son was only 3 days away from his 19th birthday 10-5 when he was killed oh how it hurts so much everyday i see and talk to my other sons and it is an empty hole in my heart i feel sorry for his mom and god bless your family and i hope you guys can heal your heart from this fucked up tragedy i know it aint easy because it has been a year now for me and believe me i go thru a phase once a week about why should i keep on going it hurts so much and what do you do. to the mother of this beautiful young man keep it moving and dont ever let no one get you down you have experienced enough pain for a life time cant shit else hurt you. peace to you and your family for the lost of this beautiful angel may his wings spread over your family and protect all of you. god bless

[wise4food]

My feelings and prayers gO out to the boys parents,grandparents, and friends. They just keep getting younger.its not going to stop at all. I'm happy to see 24 some of us dont get that chance to make it. People should grow up and realize its not anyones choice to take anyones life away.its sad to say that's how the world goes around. Without killing and crimes there will be no law enforcement jobs and so on and so on. I dont know how this boy died but its just sad. What people dont seem to get is no matter what age u are there's no break for u. Its not about the parents and what u teach ur child. Everybody is one way and another. What i mean by that is when ur child is home its ur bAby. When they leave they do things u would NeVeR think oF. Our kids corrupt themselves, and make there own choices. Control is something a parent loose once the child realizes there is NoO!! Limit to the things that they can do in this world. Its no longer a race thing. Its a war between the lord and the devil. Good and the bad. The deviil is trying to compete wit god. Wake up and realize we can't run from reality!!!!!!

[GODS CHILD]

ONCE AGAIN ON 54TH STREET & HOOVER.THIS MARK THE 8th DEATH ON THIS STREET. HOW MANY MORE DEATHS. I GREW UP ALL MY LIFE HERE AND THIS IS SAD.HE HAD A FUTURE AHEAD OF HIM. THIS CHILD HAD A FULL SCHOLARSHIP TO PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY. THERE NEED TO BE A NEW LAW FOR GANG BANGERS COMMITING MURDERS. SEND THERE ASS TO IRAQ.WHERE A REAL GUN BATTLE AWAIT. ONLY COWARDS SHOOT INNOCENT PEOPLE. I PRAY THAT WHO EVER DID THIS TO HIM SPEND THE REST OF THERE LIFE IN PRISON. SENTECING THEM TO DEATH IS TO EASY. THEY NEED TO SUFFER EVERYDAY IN PRISON. THIS WAS A CHILD OF GOD WITH A FUTURE. GANGS NEED TO STOP LABELING OUR KIDS WITH DICKIES & WHITE PRO CLUB T-SHIRTS AS GANG MEMBERS. 80% OF LOS ANGELES SCHOOLS REQUIRE THESE CLOTHING STYLE AS UNIFORMS. ANOTHER ONE OF OUR FUTURE CUT SHORT. THEY NEED TO CATCH THESE ANIMALS.ESPECIALLY MOCKING THIS DEATH. JEFF WALK AROUND HEAVEN ALL DAY.

[Chicks1]

A young kid was shot and cmoreclearly just wants to yell and scream about the black race...WTF?? This is not the real world you are not in the real world the real world isn't about shooting up people in the 'hood or whatever....get out of your ghetto ass neighborhood and live a real life without the power of a gun to fuel your rage...and stop blaming everyone else you're not Dr. Phil...the kid was SEVENTEEN was it his fault he was shot ummmm get a freaking grip!!

[Ariana]

Tarn Helm, I completely agree with you. Life is what you make of it and I'm tired of hearing people blame their problems on outside factors. People need to take responsibility for their actions. Just because something is readily available (ie. drugs, alcohol, weapons) doesn't mean you have to consume/purchase it. The key here is that people need to step up and make educating themselves a priority, because that's the only way things are going to get better.

[LAN8TV]

Tarn Helm & cmoreclearly,

I think both of you have good points. I myself am a college-educated, suburban-residing black man and can see both sides of the picture. I do think that there is a soft system that is designed to keep certain population groups oppressed; however, I've seen kids from my own inner-city neighborhood rise up, reject the tied-to-the-hood mentality, and become solid tax paying upper middle income citizens.

On the other hand, I think whites fail to understand that racism does still exist; albeit on a very subtle basis. Although, we have some extraordinary people (who happen to be black) who have become American icons--they'll be quick to acknowledge their stories of racism. And keep in mind, those of us who make the decision to leave the hood and take advantage of the school systems, great parks, and other benefits of the suburbs often get burning crosses on our lawns or swatikas painted on our garage doors as welcome mats in our newly adopted communities.

The story has been told 1000s of times for the past 50 years; lack of employment opportunities, severely dysfunctional family units, and substandard education are the primary reasons behind the violence entrenched in minority communities. However, as long as the power structure continues to marginalize the young men and women being murdered every day across US cities--I don't see any decrease in these senseless killings in the near future.

[Tarn Helm]

"cmoreclearly" has posted one of the most "comic book" versions of the world I have read on this blog to date.

Step1: If you want to survive, get the f out of the 'hood.

Step 2: If you want to succeed in life, don't start popping out fatherless children when you yourself don't have a damned dime to your name or any means of support other than slanging' drugs, hookin', robbin', stealin', or welfare. Get a damned education and get a damned job and get a damned "crib" as far away as possible from your "people," who don't seem to want to do anything except victimize you and your offspring.

Step 3: If you want to stop living in a war zone, then leave the war zone--none of these kids are chained to that corner where they live--they and their "parents" are free, whether they want to be free or not--and the responsibility of freedom is not easy to bear, because when you fail, there is no one to blame but yourself.

"cmoreclearly" needs to grow and stop blaming (and teaching others to blame) the "system," "whitey," "-isms," and "-ations" for the problems of his people.

People need to take responsibility for themselves.

You want to be drunk on the wine of freedom?

Get used to the hangover of responsibility.

[PrettyGirl]

Seeing your face on this homicide report hurts my stomach. I heard about somebody getting killed on 54th but i wouldnt even imagine it being you. I didnt kno him personally but i would always see him riding his bike from young market or standing by teddys. He never really said much but he always looked high. (lol)He had a beautiful smile and its such a tradegy that hes gone.I couldnt imagine why anyone would want to kill a innocent child. Im goin to pray for your family and your friends good bless.