“Person of interest” in 2012 death of 5-year-old on Simon Bolivar wanted for questioning

The sprawling investigation into a May 2012 gun battle near a birthday party on Simon Bolivar that killed a 5-year-old girl now includes another name: Gary Magee, a 22-year-old man deemed a “person of interest” who is also wanted on gun and drug charges, police say.

Magee is wanted for failure to appear in court on those charges, as well as for questioning in connection to the shootout May 30, 2012, that led to the deaths of 5-year-old Briana Allen and 33-year-old Shawanna Pierce, a motorist not at the party who was hit by a stray bullet, according to a NOPD release.

Magee’s naming expands yet again the cast of characters said to be involved in the tragedy:

• The day after the shooting, one suspect, 18-year-old Leo Riles, turned himself in to police to face two counts of first-degree murder.
• The next month, 23-year-old Corey Dillon tried to escape a police officer but crashed his car, and was arrested in possession of a gun and a bag of marijuana, authorities said. Dillon was described as a “person of interest” in the May 30 shooting as well.
• In July, a 16-year-old was shot on the front porch of a home in the 3200 block of LaSalle by an unknown assailant on a dirt bike, and the following day, a 19-year-old was shot in front of the home on Simon Bolivar where Allen was killed. The second shooting was in retaliation for the LaSalle shooting, police said at the time.
• In August, police arrested 32-year-old Burnell Allen, father of Briana Allen, and charged him with murder in connection with a June 9 shooting death on Saratoga Street, about a block away from where his daughter had been killed less than two weeks before.
• In November, officials said in a court hearing that Allen’s death may have been a result of the activity of a new gang made up of three smaller neighborhood groups in the 10th Ward.

Anyone with information about Magee’s whereabouts is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 822-1111.