Unsolved LA: No motive, no gang ties. So why was a LADWP lineman murdered in 2020?

GARDENA, Calif. (KABC) -- Six years after Akeem "AJ" Coburn was shot and killed in a Gardena driveway, his family is still searching for answers and hoping renewed attention will help bring justice.

Coburn, a lineman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), had recently proposed to his fiancée, Brandi Harris. Just ten days after she said "yes," he was gunned down while standing outside Harris's family home on July 29, 2020.

"I saw the paramedics pulling a white sheet over him," Harris said. "And I just remember screaming at the top of my lungs, because that moment felt like the worst time of my life."

"This was an actual man, a father, a partner, a son, a brother," Harris said.

A sudden attack with no clear motive

On the night of the shooting, Harris had stepped inside the Gardena home to pick up her daughter while Coburn stayed in the driveway, talking with her cousin.

"I had not been in the house for at least five minutes when I heard gunshots," she said.

Surveillance video captured a car -- likely a Mercedes -- driving down Vermont Avenue seconds before a passenger opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon. Detectives say Coburn appears to have been targeted without reason.

"What we know is that, AJ, as his family called him, had no gang ties," said Los Angeles Police Department Cold Case Detective Ricardo Feria, who is now leading the investigation. When asked whether misidentification could be a factor, he said, "That's quite possible, yes."

For Coburn's cousin, Amy Bishop, the loss remains unbearable.

"That's what I want people to know. This wasn't provoked by him. So we deserve justice," she said. "It wasn't from sickness. It wasn't from a car accident. It was from being murdered at the hands of someone else. So to not receive justice and someone being held accountable, it's like we just lost a loved one and no one cares."

Every woman in Bishop's family now has "AJ" tattooed on her hand as a permanent reminder.

Harris carries a teddy bear that plays a recording of Coburn's voice and wears a shirt made from the one he wore in their engagement photos.

"This is the life of someone who mattered," she said. "Justice is long overdue for AJ, and his family needs closure."

Investigators believe there are people who know who pulled the trigger. A reward of up to $50,000 is available for information leading to an arrest.

If you have any information that could help investigators, call LAPD at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 or 1-877-527-3247.

Unsolved L.A. is a special series on Eyewitness News. Every month, Investigative Reporter Kevin Ozebek profiles an unsolved murder in Los Angeles and shows us what investigators need to close the case. If you have any information that could help investigators, call the LAPD at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 or 1-877-527-32-47.