A notorious former LA gangster turned gang peacemaker has been busted in an alleged murder plot — a far cry from his mission to keep the streets peaceful.
62-year-old Clifford “Skipp” Townsend was arrested at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday outside his nonprofit organization, 2nd Call, by detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery Homicide Division.
Townsend was arrested alongside Lenita Sinna Dee Lewis, Shamond “Lil AD” Bennet, Nichole Aaliyah Smith and Jeremiah Abdelhameed, according to the Los Angeles Times. Bennett and Townsend are currently held on $2 million bail while the others at $50,000.
The 62-year-old is a well-known gang interventionist in South Los Angeles and co-founder of a nonprofit organization called 2nd Call, a group that works to broker truce between gangs.
2nd Call was started in 2006 “to save lives by reducing violence and assisting in the personal development of high-risk individuals, proven offenders, ex-felons, parolees, and others who society disregards,” according to the organization’s website.
The nonprofit also has contracts nearing $700,000 with the city of Los Angeles and during the massive construction of SoFi Stadium, 2nd Call partnered to enroll over 100 formerly incarcerated individuals.
Townsend was part of the Rollin’ 20s Bloods gang for nearly 27 years and his first arrest came at the age of 13 before walking away from the gang life.
“Until I know the case against Skipp and I understand it in detail, this in no way bears any resemblance to the man I know,” a gang expert at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Jorja Leap told The Times.
One prominent LA activist, Najee Ali, also said Townsend was “that one person you could rely on.”
The news comes after a 51-year-old 2nd Call worker named Reginald Foreman was fatally shot back in August.
Foreman was removing weeds when a masked man chased and fired a bullet into his chest. Police have not announced a connection between his death and Townsend’s arrest.
The investigation into Townsend is still ongoing.
