The coronavirus wasn’t the only thing filling up my newsfeed in 2020. When it wasn’t populated by reactions to the latest officer-involved shooting fatalities, it was permeated with accounts of the most recent protests against the killing of unarmed Black people.
I was seeing reports of horrific family tragedies that ended in homicide. Gang violence and drug deals gone wrong played some role in the overall increase in violent crime in 2020. But I know they don’t explain the whole story. The problem is that these stories all too often don’t come to a conclusion.
At the start of 2021, I contacted the South Bureau of the Los Angeles Police Department to request an update on the arrests made in homicide cases in 2020 in the Los Angeles Harbor Area and learned how few of these cases have been resolved and justice served. Of the 18 homicides cases committed in San Pedro and Wilmington in 2020, only four resulted in arrests. The following is a list of cases, each with short synopsis. None of them really have a conclusion, but the storylines of a few of them go beyond a victim and victim’s families being victimized.
This past December, a $50,000 reward was offered for information that would help find whoever killed Akeem Coburn on the night of July 29. The 30-year-old father of two young girls was standing in a driveway in a Harbor Gateway neighborhood, just after 10 p.m., when someone walked up and shot him. Coburn ran away, then collapsed in the backyard of a home. An arrest has yet to be made.
Days before Thanksgiving, Miguel Ruiz, a 37-year-old from San Pedro, was shot and killed on the 100 block of South Mesa Street. Ruiz was reportedly sitting in the courtyard of an apartment complex with a group of friends, a few minutes after 9 p.m., when a man approached and fired multiple shots at them. Ruiz died at the scene. Two others were injured by the gunfire; one declined medical treatment and the other was taken to a hospital, police said. No arrests.
Alex Littlejohn, a 22-year-old Latino, was killed on Oct. 27, after being shot near West 1st and South Centre streets in San Pedro. No arrests.
Veronica Jasmine Her- nandez, a 24-year-old Latina, was slain Oct. 26 after being stabbed near West 36th and South Gaffey streets in San Pedro. No arrests.
Nuusoliafaifuaina Tuimoloau, a beloved 58-year-old Carson High School volunteer, was killed April 24, after he was struck and killed by a vehicle, near 3600 S. Carolina St. in San Pedro.
Justin Aranda, 21 years old, was arrested May 13 and is being held on $2 million bond for Tuimoloau’s death. Aranda was arraigned on Nov. 4 and pleaded not guilty. His next hearing date is Jan. 26 for a pre-trial conference.
Though Aranda was arrested, detectives still didn’t know why he allegedly ran down Tuimoloau, nor were they certain why the two engaged in a confrontation as the victim was leaving his home to visit his mother.
Jose Luis Acevedo-Jaimes, a 23-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Feb. 26, in the 200 block of North Cabrillo Avenue in San Pedro, at about 1:30 a.m. Acevedo-Jaimes was walking east on Sepulveda to a liquor store when a person walked up to him, shot him and fled, said Los Angeles Police Detective Julie Scruggs. Residents in the area heard the gunshots and called police.
Acevedo-Jaimes was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:20 a.m., according to coroner’s records. Nexo Adrian Garcia was arrested Feb. 28, 2020 and charged with the homicide. His bail was set at $3 million.
Raul Ernesto Esparza, 44, was sleeping near the waterfront across the street from the post office at about 3:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, when someone stabbed him multiple times, then ran away. Esparza was pronounced dead on the 800 block of South Beacon Street in San Pedro according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner records. No arrests have been made.
Arlene Leonor Rodriguez, a 24-year-old Latina and her child, were killed Nov. 15, after being shot near 1100 N. Neptune Ave. in Wilmington. No arrests have been made.
Gabriel A. Gonzales, a 27-year-old Latino, died Sunday, Oct. 25, after being shot near 800 Quay Ave. in Wilmington. Jose Altamirano, 40, was arrested and charged with murder.
Teenagers Jesse Meza and Raemond Jarrod De Leon Santos, 19, were shot and killed Sept. 30, in the 1200 block of Drumm Avenue in Wilmington, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.
Shortly before 2 a.m., Santos was sitting in the driver’s seat of his gray Honda Accord with Meza, his 18-year-old cousin, when another vehicle stopped nearby, said Los Angeles police Det. Dave Cortez. A person got out of the car and began shooting at them through the driver’s side window.
Santos was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:06 a.m. Meza died at a hospital.
Santos had been visiting Meza, who lived in the area. Cortez said he believes the men were “misidentified” as gang members. No arrests have been made.
Kevin Renard Yarbrough Jr., a 31-year-old white man, died Saturday, July 18, after being shot near 1025 McFarland Ave. in Wilmington, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s records. No arrests have been made.
Daniel Felipe Delgado, a 19-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Sunday, July 5, near East Pacific Coast Highway and Drumm Avenue in Wilmington, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s records.
About 1:45 a.m., Delgado was driving a burgundy Honda Accord on East Pacific Coast Highway and made a left onto Drumm Avenue, said Los Angeles Police Officer Jeffrey Tiffin. Delgado, who was with two others, was driving a friend home.
Another vehicle, possibly a dark-colored sedan, followed behind him and a person inside shot at Delgado’s car from behind, Tiffin said.
Delgado was struck and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Delgado was driving his friend home from a July 4 gathering, police said. It’s unclear what prompted the shooting. No arrests have been made.
Freddie Gomez Zavala, a 45-year-old Latino male, died May 12, after being shot near 1523 Island Ave. in Wilmington, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s records. No arrests have been made.
Gus Bolanos Jr., a 30-year-old Latino, was shot and killed Jan. 31, 2020, in the 200 block of West Anaheim Street in Wilmington, according to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s records.
About 11:52 a.m., Bolanos was reportedly in the passenger seat of a parked car when a man approached him and shot him multiple times.
Bolanos was pronounced dead at 12:05 p.m. at the scene, according to coroner’s records.
Jose Gonzalez Ruiz, a 29-year-old Latino, reportedly the ex-husband of Bolanos’ girlfriend, was charged with one count of murder with gun allegations. Gonzalez Ruiz has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court March 12.
You may submit an anonymous tip anytime, anywhere, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by phone, text, or through the Internet. Justice in violent crime cases requires the public’s help. Crime Stoppers wants information on crimes that have occurred including unsolved crimes. If a crime is in progress, please dial 9-1-1. Otherwise, call 800- 222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.
