Unsolved LA: Four years later, no arrests in killing of James Henry Hall III, West Hollywood chef shot in South LA

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Four years after James Henry Hall III was gunned down outside his girlfriend’s South Los Angeles home, his family and detectives say they are still searching for the three men responsible for his killing – a case that investigators believe may have stemmed from the color of Hall’s shoes.

Hall, 40, was a chef at Lisa Vanderpump’s Tom Tom restaurant in West Hollywood and was known for his passion in the kitchen. His mother, Yvette Hall, said losing him has been devastating.

“It just hurts when you lose a child in this way,” she said.

Hall and his girlfriend had picked up a late dinner from a Jack in the Box on June 14, 2022, before driving to her home on West 83rd Street, just off Figueroa Street. LAPD Homicide Detective Dexter Navarro said Hall was in the driver’s seat and his girlfriend was in the front passenger seat when they parked.

As Hall began stepping out of the car, three men jumped out of an SUV down the street and opened fire.

Navarro estimates that about 30 shots were fired. Hall’s girlfriend was physically unharmed, but Hall died at the scene.

The shooting happened in an area controlled by the Hoover street gang, and Hall was wearing red sneakers – a color associated with the rival Bloods gang.

“So we think, at the time, that James was mistaken for a rival gang member that resided in this area,” Navarro said.

Navarro and Yvette say James had no known connection to any gang.

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