The reward for information about a 2016 shooting death in Ocean View has been increased by $50,000 to $250,000.
The San Francisco Police Department increased the reward on Thursday as it seeks information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of 22-year-old Keron Lamotte.
"I'm just trying to get through this and keep the faith that one day justice will come," Lamotte's mother, Pecola Jones, told Bay City News.
Lamotte was shot and killed as he observed an artist painting a mural on the side of Lacy's Barbershop at Plymouth Avenue and Broad Street at approximately 7:06 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2016. A man in his 50s was also wounded.
Shortly after Lamotte’s murder, then-acting SFPD Chief Toney Chaplin said the slaying was connected to the killing of 23-year-old Phillip Gaston days later on Oct. 10 near the 500 block of Head Street, according to a report in the San Francisco Examiner.
The Taraval Station police blotter report for the incident indicates the "suspects were reported to have fled the location in a vehicle."
In August 2019, police issued a $25,000 reward to urge witnesses to step forward. Lamotte’s mother, Pecola Jones, commissioned a billboard announcing the reward and held a press conference in front of Ingleside Presbyterian Church.
"People did report multiple people running from the scene, vehicles fleeing the scene following the shooting, so we know that somebody knows something out there. That’s why we need people to come forward," a police spokesperson five years after the killing.
SFPD has been increasing the reward for information over the years. In 2022, for instance, it was doubled from $100,000 to $200,000. It is now $250,000.
The intersection was the site of violence over the years. Surveillance cameras were installed at the intersection after another homicide occurred there.
Anyone with information about this or any other homicide case is asked to contact SFPD Homicide Detail at 415-553-1145 or after hours at 415-553-1071. You may also call our 24-hour anonymous tip line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text-a-Tip to TIP411, beginning the text with "SFPD."
