Phenix City police offer reward for help in closing case years after ‘senseless homicide’

The Phenix City Police Department is asking the public for help in solving a cold-case homicide that occurred in 2020, and a reward is up for grabs, police announced Monday.

Police say Lamar Whittaker was shot and killed on Oct. 17, 2020, in the area of Fourth Pl S and 10th Avenue S, while trying to help someone he didn’t know. It was a case of mistaken identity, police said. Police responded to the shooting scene, near Pine Hill Baptist Church, and found Whittaker dead.

Whittaker, 35, was found lying against the curb next to a car that had broken down, police said at the time. The Ledger-Enquirer previously reported that witnesses said another man had walked up to the vehicle, fired several shots and fled.

“The investigators, at the time of the shooting, worked countless hours but were unable to solve the case,” the police department said in a news release Monday.

Police are asking anyone with information on this “senseless homicide” to contact Lt. Robert Isabel at 334-448-2839, or another investigator named Joiner at 334-448-2796.

Police say reward money was available, but didn’t specify an amount.