The leader of a South Los Angeles nonprofit gang intervention program has been arrested by Los Angeles Police Department homicide detectives on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, and four others have been charged in connection with the murder.
Skipp Townsend, 62, executive director of 2nd Call, was taken into custody by Los Angeles Police Department Robbery-Homicide Division detectives around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in South Los Angeles.
Townsend, a former gang member who has been the head of one of the city’s largest intervention programs for more than two decades, appears regularly in the media and alongside city leaders. His organization, 2nd Call, is an advocacy group that mediates gang disputes and provides alternatives to community violence.
Townsend is being held in lieu of $2 million bail. In addition to Townsend, Lenita Sinna Dee Lewis, 28, and Shamond Bennett, 49, were also arrested Monday. Two other people, Nichole Aaliyah Smith, 23, and Jeremiah Abdelhameed, 25, were also detained on suspicion of accessory. Los Angeles Police Department officials would not release details of the suspect’s alleged plot to commit murder.
Townsend has not yet been charged by prosecutors. His attorney could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said the case is under review for a charging decision.
Law enforcement sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about pending cases, told The Times that the search warrant was issued before the suspect was taken into custody. Najee Ali, another prominent South Los Angeles activist, said Wednesday that police seized computers from 2nd Call’s offices.
Reginald Foreman, 51, was shot and killed Aug. 6 while mowing grass with the 2nd Call Team near 59th Street and Crenshaw Boulevard in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Townsend said in an October interview.
Police told the family they expect a solution to the case soon, but have not announced any arrests.
Forman – known as “Big Ant” or simply “BA” – was described by Townsend as a loving, generous man whose laugh could shatter windows. He loves anything baseball related, especially the Dodgers. He likes to joke. He enjoyed coaching his nieces in softball at Ladera Park.
Foreman is working with a team to remove weeds from a vacant lot near Crenshaw Avenue and 60th Street as part of the long-delayed Crenshaw destination revitalization plan. There are varying accounts of what happened, but witnesses said a young man wearing a medical mask walked up to Foreman and Bennett and began firing.
Foreman and Bennett both ran toward Crenshaw around the corner. The gunman caught up with Foreman in the middle of the block. Some witnesses said the gunman stood over Foreman and shot him in the chest at close range.
Bennett and another man were charged with resisting arrest in July 2025 after they clashed with Los Angeles Police Department officers during a candlelight vigil a few blocks from where Foreman was killed this year. Bennett faces three charges, including felony assault on a first responder.
But the case against Bennett has fallen apart in recent weeks. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced that Bennett’s charges of resisting arrest and assault last month could not be brought to trial. It’s unclear why prosecutors have been unable to make progress. A judge dismissed the case after Bennett’s attorneys argued that his right to a speedy trial was violated.
Another man charged in the case pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor.
On July 4, another 2nd Call employee was killed. Eric Washington, 37, was shot while trying to break up an argument at the New Wilmington Arms Apartments in Compton around 11:20 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. A $70,000 reward is currently being offered for information leading to the murder.
Washington also worked for former Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino and was involved with the city’s housing authority’s Watts Rising program. After the killings, Mayor Karen Bass called Washington a “loyal public servant.”
Townsend is a prominent figure among gang interventionists. He began working in gang intervention after a tumultuous upbringing that included prison time. His work in gang truce negotiations earned him widespread acclaim, earning him numerous contracts with the city of Los Angeles. The Times named him to its 2024 list of the most influential people in Los Angeles.
Townsend was a member of Rollin’ 20s Bloods. “He’s a Blood. He’s going into the Crip community. There’s no greater sacrifice,” Bennett, aka Lil AD, a former leader in the ’60s who was arrested this week, said in a Times report on Townsend.