City Council Approves $50,000 Reward for Gang Tipper

CNS—The City Council’s Public Safety Committee has approved paying a $50,000 reward to the person who anonymously reported the whereabouts of Kody DeJohn Scott, designated one of the LAPD’s 10 “Most Wanted” gang members.

Scott, also known by the gang moniker “Monster,” was arrested March 7 on suspicion of burglary, despite his claims that he had rejected his life in a South Los Angeles gang and converted to Islam.

Scott chronicled his life as a member of the 8-Trey Crips in “Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member.”

The Los Angeles Police Commission signed off on the reward pay-out last month. The full City Council must still approve the matter.

According to police, investigators received a tip that Scott was in the 7600 block of Brighton Street in the Florence area. Officers sent to the area spotted him riding a bicycle and wearing a skull cap with two braids attached in an apparent attempt to disguise his shaved head, authorities said.

Police said he initially tried to escape until realizing he was surrounded, then surrendered peacefully.

The City Council began offering $50,000 rewards in February for information leading to the arrest and conviction of “Most Wanted” gang members.

The council now will consider whether to pay the tipster who reported Scott’s whereabouts.

Scott earned a spot on the LAPD’s “Most Wanted” list for allegedly breaking into a man’s home on Dec. 12 in an attempt to steal his car. Police allege Scott beat the man so severely that he needed facial reconstruction surgery.

Scott was on parole for a 1990 robbery, and had not yet completed his sentence due to frequent parole violations, according to police.

If convicted of his most recent crime, it would be Scott’s “third strike,” which could result in a life sentence in prison, according to police.

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