Regency 4 Cinemas

Once operated by Mann Theatres.

On April 24, 1988, the Regency Cinemas went into a serious dark path, when the theater itself turned into a murder scene after a man wearing blue gang colors was shot to death by a man wearing the red colors of a rival gang while waiting outside the Regency Cinemas building to watch the movie “Colors”, marking it the first reported killing associated with the movie itself and became national headlines.

The victim, his girlfriend, sister, and brother-in-law were standing in line when the suspect driving in a maroon 1988 Chrysler (either a New Yorker or a Fifth Avenue) arrived at the parking lot and stopped. He got out and asked to the male victim, “Are you a ricket?” The word “ricket” is a derogatory term used for the Crips Gang whose members wear blue, while red is worn by Blood Gang members. The two scuffled, and the man in red pulled a pistol, shooting the man in blue in the head. The victim’s sister was also struck by gunfire while waiting in line but survived. The suspect, whom police declined to identify, then got into his Chrysler that was rented in Los Angeles before the shooting, and left the scene, fleeing through the nearby Hammer Ranch Center. The man in blue was pronounced dead after arriving at St. Joseph’s Medical Center.