Reward Increased In Unsolved Killing Of 21-Year-Old LA County College Student

LOS ANGELES, CA — Officials have increased the reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the killing of 21-year-old Lanai Ariyana Dees, who was fatally shot while driving through an unincorporated area near South Los Angeles in 2024.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this week extended the reward and increased it from $15,000 to $20,000 as sheriff’s homicide detectives continue investigating the unsolved shooting, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Dees was driving a white Mercedes westbound through an alley between Wilton Place and Van Ness Avenue in the West Athens area at around 12:40 a.m. Nov. 17, 2024, when someone in another vehicle pulled alongside her and opened fire, sheriff’s officials said.

She was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators believe the shooting was gang-related but said Dees, a college student from Inglewood, was not the intended target.

Los Angeles police officers initially responded to the area after Dees’ car crashed into a concrete foundation, KTLA reported. Officers found her inside the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound, according to the station.

Her brother, Jordan Dees, described her to KTLA as a kind and loving person shortly after the killing.

“She was an amazing person,” he told the station. “She was very sweet and very kind.”

Detectives later released an image of an unidentified person of interest and asked the public for help identifying the person, KTLA reported.

The Board of Supervisors established the original $15,000 reward on April 1, 2025. It had been scheduled to expire June 14, but supervisors voted to extend it and raise the amount to $20,000.

Anyone with information was asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers online or at 800-222-8477.

City News Service contributed to this report.