Full Notification

Dad Gunned Down in Shooting While Coaching Kids in
Athens-Westmont Driveway;
Reward Offered for Suspect and Vehicle
 

Lester Scott Virgil was 45 years old when he was gunned down on Friday, August 5, 2016.  He was a father of three, devoted to seeing his children grow up in an atmosphere of family and education, balanced with sports activities.  Lester often assisted in coaching his 12-year-old son and several children over the years to play basketball; but he wasn’t just an occasional coach, Lester was a mentor, guiding adolescent boys at a crucial time in their lives, teaching them to be focused, do their best, exercise good sportsmanship, and manage their responsibilities.
 
To prepare for competition in a basketball tournament the next day, Lester drove his son to a friend’s house after school to practice with teammates.  At the house, located in the 1600 block of West 110th Street, in the Athens-Westmont community of unincorporated Los Angeles County, the kids rehearsed drills in the driveway as Lester observed from the front porch. 
 
In the late-afternoon light of 5:45 P.M., a car stopped in front of the house; a passenger got out and fired numerous rounds from a handgun.  The kids scattered to escape the danger, but Lester was struck and pronounced dead at the scene.  The suspect vehicle fled, speeding westbound on West 110th Street and out of view. 
 
Lester led a life of leadership to the young, impressionable children he coached.  He worked hard as a supervisor at a busy international airport, dealing with large-scale contract work, personnel and deadlines; but he balanced the everyday job stress by surrounding himself with family.  Lester had two adult daughters, the 12-year-old son who witnessed his father’s shooting, and a devoted wife with whom he was just 15 days away from enjoying a wedding anniversary cruise.
 
During a press conference on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau detectives played a digital recording of images depicting the suspect arriving and fleeing the scene, in hopes of prompting any witnesses to step forward. 
 
The vehicle is described as a 2000s white Audi four-door sedan with tinted windows.  The suspect is described as a male Black of unknown age, wearing a gray hoodie-style sweatshirt. 

Homicide Bureau Detective Lieutenant John Corina presented a $10,000 reward, offered by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in exchange for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect or suspects involved in the murder of Lester Scott Virgil.
 
In a moving appeal to the public to come forward with any piece of information which might help solve the murder of their beloved, Lester Virgil’s mother, brother, sister, and daughter attended the press conference. 
 
Lester’s mother, Mary Cartwright Virgil, said she couldn’t have had a better son.  “My son was everything to me, with my other children.”
 
One of Lester’s daughters, Kashira Virgil, described her father as hardworking, honest and her best friend.  She imagined her father might say if he were alive, “Please stop reaching for guns and start reaching for success, because we all have families that love and depend on us.”
 
If you have any information about this case, please call Detective Dean Camarillo or Sergeant Timothy Cain of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
 
Prepared by:
Deputy Lillian Peck
Sheriff’s Information Bureau
211 West Temple Street,
Los Angeles, CA  90012
213-229-1700
 
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Jim McDonnell, Sheriff
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department