Police Hope Social Media Helps Solve Murder
EAST PALO ALTO, Calif. (KCBS)_ San Mateo Police are trying to solve the murder of an East Palo Alto anti-crime activist by using social media.
Police are hoping that an old videotaped message from the victim will encourage people to come forward.
David Lewis was an ex-con, recovering addict who had turned his life around. Well-known on the streets of East Palo Alto, he was shot to death in June while shopping at Hillsdale Shopping Center. Police chief Susan Mannheimer says they've changed how they're investigating the case.
"What we've done at the San Mateo Police Department in partnership with the East Palo Alto Police Department is provide ways for them to text a tip, to call in anonymously, to e-mail us, and to recognize that there's a $50,000 governor's award for information leading to the conviction and arrest of David Lewis' killers," says Mannheimer.
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Police fear the so-called no snitch rule may be getting in the way, something Lewis talked about last year at the Media Center in Palo Alto after listening to three families discuss murdered loved ones.
Anyone with information about the shooting should contact the San Mateo Police Department by calling the investigations team at (650) 522-7650; dispatch at (650) 522-7700; or leave an anonymous tip at (650) 522-7676; text an anonymous message to (650) 262-3473; or email an anonymous message to sanmateo@tipnow.org.
