It’s been exactly two years since a San Diego teenager was shot and killed in the Mount Hope area – two years without answers, as the teen’s murder remains unsolved.
While the San Diego Police Department and San Diego Crime Stoppers continue to trace leads in connection with the 2012 murder of Richard “Richie” Carrillo, 14, the reward for information on the case has increased to $3,000, officials announced Tuesday.
In addition to the $1,000 reward offered by Crime Stoppers, officials say the Millennial Tech Parent Teacher Student Organization has contributed $2,000 to the reward fund. Millennial Tech Middle School was the school Carrillo attended at the time of his killing.
On Mar. 24, 2012, just after 8 p.m., the teenage victim was sitting on the tailgate of a parked pickup truck in an alley in the 3500-block of Island Avenue near Market Street.
As Carrillo talked with friends, investigators say a dark-colored SUV drove toward the group and stopped. Two unknown men in their 20s got out of the SUV and began shooting at Carrillo and his friends. The teen tried to flee to safety on foot, but he was fatally struck by the gunfire.
By the time medics arrived on scene, it was too late for Carrillo. The teenager died at the scene.
Police say the two shooting suspects got back into the SUV and were last seen driving westbound away from the site of the deadly shooting.
Two years later, the suspects remain at large and Carrillo’s murder remains unsolved.
Anyone with information on this cold case should contact the SDPD Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
NBC 7 spoke with Carrillo’s mother, Elisa Carrillo, last March, on the first anniversary of his murder.
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At the time, the devastated mother told NBC 7 that life without her son has been incredibly difficult, and not a day goes by that she doesn’t think of him.
Clutching tightly onto a photo of her beloved boy, Elisa told NBC 7 that the pain of losing her son is “unexplainable,” and vowed to continue to fight to bring her son’s killers to justice.
“It’s like a really lost, empty feeling inside. It’s unexplainable,” she said in that interview. “I want this to end. I want this to end. I want to have justice and know in my heart, I did the best I could, and know the police and friends – everyone – has done the best they could to close this case.”
