Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying a person of interest in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Lanai Ariyana Dees, who was found dead in her car after a crash in South Los Angeles late last year.
Deputies responded around 12:40 a.m. on Nov. 17, 2024, to the 2000 block of West Century Boulevard after reports of a shooting, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. When they arrived, Los Angeles police officers were already at the scene, initially responding to what was reported as a traffic collision. Officers found Dees in the driver’s seat of a white Mercedes-Benz sedan that had crashed into a concrete foundation. She had suffered a gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dees, an Inglewood resident, was described by her family in 2024 as a kind and loving young woman. Her brother, Jordan Dees, told KTLA shortly after the killing that it was a “senseless tragedy” and pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.
“She was an amazing person,” Jordan said in 2024. “She was very sweet and very kind.”
Nearly a year later, detectives have released a photo of an unidentified person of interest and are urging the public’s assistance in identifying them. Authorities have not provided a motive for the shooting or details about the individual pictured.
“She didn’t deserve what happened to her at all,” Jordan said at the time. “Please help. Please call the police, call me if you know me…if you know anything, please don’t stay silent, because we have to get the person that did this. We have to.”
Anyone with information is asked to call LASD Homicide Detectives Guillen or Collinsworth at (323) 890-5500. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477, through the “P3 Tips” mobile app, or online.
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