Repo Man Shot to Death

A 50-year-old repossession agent shot to death in South Gate as he towed a seized vehicle Sunday was identified today as a Bakersfield man, while sheriff’s detectives sought his killer.

Steve Duwayne Lawson was fatally shot on Firestone Boulevard at or near Rayo Avenue about 4:10 a.m., according to sheriff’s deputies and a coroner’s spokesman.

Witnesses said Lawson -- and the white Dodge Caliber he was towing -- was being followed by multiple vehicles just before the shooting. No arrests were announced by late this afternoon.

“We think it was a repossession that went bad,” sheriff’s Lt. Dave Dolson said at the scene.

Lawson may have been first fired on at Rosecrans and Atlantic avenues in Compton, where a shots-fired call was reported, Dolson said. After Lawson was shot, the tow truck crashed into another vehicle and came to a shop.

Anyone with information as to the name or the whereabouts of the shooter was asked to call detectives at (323) 890-5500.

--City News Service