Los Angeles

Father Pleads for Help to Solve Son's Killing

Weeks after his son and ex-wife were brutally killed by a gunman wielding an assault rifle, Jose Love is still angry and determined to find justice.

"My family was attacked by terrorists that night," said Love.

Love said terrorism came to his front door.

"Why would anyone use those weapons (AK-47), such a powerful weapon, on another person?"

Jordan Love, 27, and his mother Michelle Kelly-Love, were shot and killed Feb. 27 while sitting in a car in front of a family residence in Carson. Jordan's grandmother, who was sitting in the back seat, was uninjured.

"It found us here. If it found us here in Carson. Now I know, it can find you anywhere," said Love, referring to the senseless violence that has plagued streets in Los Angeles in recent years.

While seeking answers and understanding, Love is determined to not let this one go. He said Jordan's life will not be just another statistic, "Not just another black young life taken. I'm going to make his life matter."

The Loves were returning from a day with family when they were shot to death in their car just outside a family residence.

"This house was like a safe haven; it was a place to go to for those wanting to improve their lives," said Love.

The house is undergoing renovations, which prompted Love and his partner, Dusty, to move temporarily to Manhattan Beach.

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Love said the sound of ocean waves, just steps away from their front door, is soothing. Yet, "some days are still hard, other days are better."

Love's eyes welled and his cheeks trembled as he recalled his golf days with sons Jordan and Jarod.

"We had made a decision to play golf at least once a month," he said. "That was going be part of our lives."

Love had been looking forward to folding Jordan into family momentum. Jordan had recently moved down from Sacramento and, with a large family support system, was determined to make a good life for his 2-year-old daughter.

"One of my proud moments with Jordan was when we stood, side by side, at our local voting place and helped to elect the first black president of our country," he said.

Another proud moment with him was the night he died.

"Because, at my pleading, he tried so hard to live but could not survive the power of those evil bullets," he said. "He always tried to please me."

Love recalled the time when his two sons, then ages 4 and 5, met Tiger Woods at one of Wood's early tournaments. Love said Woods took notice of Love and his two sons, the only African-American spectators that day, and had his caddie summoned the trio.

Love, earning good wages in the insurance industry, enrolled his sons in private schools early on. He paved the way for his family to live a good life and in good neighborhoods.

He said he thought living in Carson, on a quiet street, was a step up.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's homicide bureau detectives are investigating the murders and wouldn't comment on the case.

Less than a week after the murders, the Carson City Council approved a $25,000 reward to find the killer.

Love said he does not want his son to be thought of as just another black thug. He said he does not want time to go by, and for facts to get misinterpreted, nor to have this become just another statistic.

He said Jordan was a good, decent person. Love now is determined to transform his family's pain into action.

"I want to erase as many names off as many bullets as possible," he said. "This has to stop."

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