Six years after Akeem "AJ" Coburn was shot and killed while standing in a driveway, his family is still waiting for answers. Coburn, a lineman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, was killed on July 29, 2020, in the Harbor Gateway area near Gardena. Investigators say his death appears to have been unprovoked, and authorities are putting up a reward for information that leads to an arrest. Relatives insist Coburn had no gang ties and have kept his memory front and center while the investigation remains open.
Surveillance footage and the investigation
Surveillance video captured a car, which detectives describe as likely a Mercedes, driving down Vermont Avenue seconds before a passenger opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon, according to ABC7. Los Angeles Police Department cold-case Detective Ricardo Feria, who is now leading the probe, said Coburn appears to have been targeted and that misidentification remains a possibility. Detectives say they have limited physical leads and are treating the case as an unsolved homicide while asking the public to come forward with tips.
Family, fiancée and memorials
"I saw the paramedics pulling a white sheet over him," Coburn's fiancée Brandi Harris told investigators, and family members say the loss has left them demanding justice. "This wasn't provoked by him. So we deserve justice," his cousin Amy Bishop said, as relatives marked his memory with tattoos and vigils, according to ABC7. Friends and union members describe Coburn as a devoted father and a hands-on worker at LADWP who was planning a future with his partner.
Reward renewed and public appeals
The city has kept the case in the public eye by offering, and later renewing, a $50,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction, a move backed by Councilmember Joe Buscaino and labor leaders. The Los Angeles City Council reinstated the reward on the second anniversary of Coburn's death, and union and family outreach has included billboards and bus-shelter ads to encourage tips, according to IBEW Local 18. Officials say the reward and outreach are designed to break the silence around the case and tip the investigation toward an arrest.
Who Coburn Was
Coburn proposed to Brandi Harris on July 19, 2020, just ten days before he was killed. He leaves behind young daughters and a fiancée who say their lives were upended by the violence. IBEW Local 18 and LADWP colleagues have described him as hardworking and reliable, with supervisors telling the union he "came to work with a determination to excel," according to the union's statement. Family members and union organizers say the case remains solvable if someone steps up and shares what they know.
How to help
South Bureau Homicide investigators ask anyone with information to call detectives at 323-786-5111, the department's 24-hour number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (1-877-527-3247), or LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, according to The Homicide Report. Authorities say even brief, seemingly small details can be crucial to solving the case, and the $50,000 reward remains available for tips that lead to an arrest and conviction.
