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Hussle, a one-time member of the Rollin’ 60s Crips street gang, had been working with the city to quell gang violence. Still, the city considered his property as a stronghold of the gang, and has demanded Mr. Gross take measures to stop the crime it said has occurred there over years, according to letters between city officials and owners of the property obtained by The New York Times.

In the months after Hussle’s killing, police officers on the street saw a rise in criminal activity at the property, including a second killing (a stabbing on June 16), a robbery at gunpoint, and the roughing up of tourists who had stopped by to pay respects to Hussle, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation who declined to be named.

Hussle’s story has exposed deep divisions within the city’s leadership, underscored by the reaction after his death, with city officials praising the rapper as a model for the neighborhood, even as he was under investigation. The case has also divided the investigators themselves.

For instance, Hussle’s killing and the aftermath emboldened prosecutors in the city attorney’s office to push forward, and they prepared civil litigation against Mr. Gross, seeking to force him to take steps to improve safety at the property. Such litigation is one tool in the city’s efforts to combat gangs.

But the police chief, Michel Moore, withheld his support for that approach out of concern that such a move could anger residents of South Los Angeles, according to the law enforcement official briefed on the matter. That effectively stalled the investigation.