19-Year-Old Arrested After Stabbing Homeless Man Who Allegedly Threatened Him and Broke Into His Car in California
19-year-old Ivan Gallegos was arrested after fatally stabbing a homeless man who reportedly threatened him during an attempted break-in. This violent confrontation occurred late Monday on the University of Southern California’s Fraternity Row.
According to LAPD Capt. Jamie Bennett, there was an altercation between Gallegos and the man who was reportedly breaking into a vehicle. The circumstances surrounding the altercation are still under investigation.
LAPD released the following news release:
On June 17, 2024 at around 8:15 p.m., LAPD Southwest officers responded to an ADW w/ Knife investigation in the 700 block of West 28th Street. The male victim was breaking into vehicles at the location when the suspect confronted and stabbed the victim.
The victim was pronounced deceased at scene by LAFD paramedics. The suspect remained at scene and was taken into custody without incident.
The suspect in the incident has been identified as 19-year-old Ivan Gallegos, a resident of Los Angeles. Booking No. 6830958. He was booked for 187(a) PC – Murder and held on $2,000,000.00 bail. South Bureau Homicide is handling the investigation.
Friends of Gallegos claim that he was acting in self-defense when he stabbed the man to death.
They revealed to Los Angeles Magazine that they had called the police after hearing the alarm and spotting a man inside one of their parked cars.
They recounted the man’s aggressive demeanor and his claim of possessing a gun.
More from LA Magazine:
It is unclear what happened then, but the friends said they called the police before the altercation began to report the car break-in. Not long after, the man was dead and Gallegos was detained by police.
“He feared for his life,” one of Gallegos’ friends said. “He had to defend himself.”
The owner of the car, a friend of Gallegos’, told L.A. his car was taken by the police to be investigated. The car has been returned to the owner, but it still has visible blood stains on the driver’s seat. Los Angeles obtained access to photos of the interior, confirming the presence of these stains.
The witnesses would not say where the knife came from or how many times Gallegos stabbed the man.
As a first generation college student from Boyle Heights studying business and music, Gallegos is involved in organizations and clubs at USC like the Latino Business Student Association and Latino Student Assembly. He is also the head of the USC Mariachi band and leads a non-profit organization called “If I don’t who will?”
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