The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors renewed $10,000 rewards Tuesday in hopes of tracking down the killer of an Irvine father shot to death while camping with his young children in Malibu and a known suspect in the 2013 fatal shooting of a 19-year-old man in Artesia.
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl recommended extending a reward for information in the killing of 35-year-old Tristan Thomas Beaudette, who was shot in the head June 22 while camping with his two 2- and 4-year-old daughters in Malibu Creek State Park.
The reward, set to expire Oct. 15, will now be available for at least another 90 days. Malibu has offered an additional $5,000, for a total of $15,000 in reward money.
The renewal comes days after an hours-long search of Malibu Canyon south of the campground by sheriff's deputies, bloodhounds and helicopters, prompted by a report of a rifle-toting burglar in the area. Deputies ended the search as night fell Saturday without finding the suspect.
The man, who was suspected in a series of burglaries, including at the Calabasas water treatment plant, has not been linked to Beaudette's shooting, though a connection hasn't been ruled out, according to a sheriff's sergeant.
Homicide detectives said the motive for Beaudette's slaying wasn't known, but a spate of shootings occurred in the area in 2016 and 2017, including a man hit by birdshot from a shotgun while sleeping and two cars hit by gunfire.
Beaudette, a scientist who worked in the pharmaceuticals industry, was inside a tent when the shot that killed him was fired. His wife was studying for an exam and didn't make the trip.
The campground has remained closed since his death.
No witnesses to Beaudette's shooting have come forward, though detectives believe that someone in the area may have seen or heard something that could help with the investigation. Kuehl asked anyone with information to call sheriff's Detectives Richard Tomlin or Daniel Morris at (323) 890-5500.
Supervisor Janice Hahn recommended extending another reward, also set to expire Oct. 15, for information on the whereabouts of a reputed gang member accused of gunning down 19-year-old Timothy Teopaco in Artesia in 2013.
Investigators allege that Boren Lay and four of his associates confronted a group inside a restaurant in the 11600 block of South Street about 1:15 a.m. on July 27, 2013, and someone in the group called Teopaco for help.
When Teopaco arrived, the gang members were driving out of the restaurant parking lot and Lay, armed with a large-caliber revolver, allegedly opened fire.
Teopaco, who was struck in the stomach, died a few hours later at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. His family said he was a former gang member who had been turning his life around after the birth of a son.
Anyone with information about Lay's whereabouts was asked to call sheriff's homicide Detective Brandt House at (323) 890-5500 or Crime Stoppers,(800) 222-TIPS (8477).
