Crenshaw Community Helped Capture Murder Suspect NR10374bb

Los Angeles:  Today, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Charlie Beck, joined by Councilmember Bernard Parks, and members of the LAPD, announced the arrest of 42-year-old Mark Rudolph Reed, a murder suspect on California’s Most Wanted Parolee list.  This arrest was directly attributed to the continued partnerships between the community, business partners and the LAPD.

On Friday, July 9, 2010 members from the Crenshaw and Coliseum Starbucks community contacted LAPD Detective Venus Mason with information regarding the whereabouts of a wanted fugitive.  Detective Mason was contacted instead of the toll free tip line because the community members had a prior working relationship with the detective and were confident that she could be trusted with their identities, which they wished to keep anonymous.

The suspected fugitive was identified by his photo on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s website.  Mark Rudolph Reed was listed as number 10 on the California’s Most Wanted Parolee list.  

Detective Mason verified that the warrant was active and discovered that Reed was also wanted in connection with a murder out of DeKalb County, Georgia for the 2007 killing of Marlon Greene.  Reed, who used the alias Will Thomas, was a local of the Crenshaw area.

Armed with information from Detective Mason, Southwest Division patrol officers spotted Reed in the 3700 block of Crenshaw Blvd. and took him into custody without incident on Saturday July 10, 2010 at about 11 a.m.  Reed was booked into the LAPD’s 77th Jail Facility for a Fugitive Arrest and is currently being held without bail. A photo of Reed is attached to the release.

The LAPD is proud of the relationships we have fostered in the community that made an arrest like this possible.  It is because of this partnership that the community felt comfortable to reach out, help identify, and ultimately capture one of California’s most wanted parolees.

Anyone wishing to report a crime and remain anonymous should call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477).  Tipsters may also contact Crimestoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone.  All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.” Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.