LOS ANGELES, CA - On Monday, June 17th, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) received a call regarding a man breaking into cars on Greek Row. Three students currently attending the University of Southern California (USC) witnessed the homeless man breaking into one of the students' cars and confronted him.
According to Fox 11, during the confrontation, 19-year-old Ivan Gallegos allegedly stabbed 27-year-old Xavier Cerf. Cerf was seen breaking into vehicles, and the trio attempted to stop him. An argument and fight ensued, during which time Gallegos, who prosecutors said had a "genuine fear for his life and the lives of others," stabbed Cerf.
Investigators said that Cerf ended up in the walkway between two fraternity houses in the 700 block of W. 28th Street in Los Angeles' University Park neighborhood when he collapsed. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A small homeless encampment is located nearby to the area where the incident happened. The incident began at 8:00 p.m., and Gallegos was arrested just a few hours later as he and his two friends stayed on scene as police and other first responders arrived. Gallegos was arrested on the suspicion of murder.
Gallegos does not have a criminal record, yet his bail was originally set at a whopping $2 million. He is currently a junior at USC majoring in Business Administration.
Upons review of all the facts, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has now declined to press charges against the student. Gallegos has since been released from jail.
While Cerf's mother, Yema Jones, has recently bashed Gallegos and the other two involved students as well as the DA's office for not filing charges, it was later revealed that Cerf told Gallegos he was carrying a gun.
Since his arrest, new details about who Gallegos is have emerged, including his passion for music and the fact that he is a first-generation Latino student.
According to Fox 11, a month before, Gallegos was profiled by Anneberg Media, a student-run platform that is overseen and funded by the USC's journalism school and in that piece Gallegos is described as a singer, songwriter, producer and composer under the moniker "IDG." He is an East Los Angeles native and was a member of Mariachi Los Troyanos at USC.
Gallegos also founded the non-profit "Project Dream," with the mission of providing guidance and resources to underserved communities impacted by gang violence, substance abuse, and poverty. Fox 11 spoke to a housekeeper at USC's Delta Tau Delta house who said that Gallegos is a member of the fraternity and lives at the house. The housekeeper, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that the violent incident is hitting the fraternity members hard, adding "They're very sad. They're very concerned, very worried."
Those who live near Greek Row said that they have had issues with car break-ins recently. Alina Ritz, said, "My roommate's car got broken into recently. I don't know if it's the same person breaking into cars, but that's an insane outcome [of getting] stabbed to death."
Mark Geragos, Gallegos’ attorney, commented on his release, saying, “This is a terrifying situation. What do you do in a situation like this? I think Ivan did exactly what he was supposed to do, which was to try to stop a crime. Unfortunately, the person he tried to stop it with escalated the matter and that’s where he found himself.”
According to Fox 11, during the confrontation, 19-year-old Ivan Gallegos allegedly stabbed 27-year-old Xavier Cerf. Cerf was seen breaking into vehicles, and the trio attempted to stop him. An argument and fight ensued, during which time Gallegos, who prosecutors said had a "genuine fear for his life and the lives of others," stabbed Cerf.
Investigators said that Cerf ended up in the walkway between two fraternity houses in the 700 block of W. 28th Street in Los Angeles' University Park neighborhood when he collapsed. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A small homeless encampment is located nearby to the area where the incident happened. The incident began at 8:00 p.m., and Gallegos was arrested just a few hours later as he and his two friends stayed on scene as police and other first responders arrived. Gallegos was arrested on the suspicion of murder.
Gallegos does not have a criminal record, yet his bail was originally set at a whopping $2 million. He is currently a junior at USC majoring in Business Administration.
Upons review of all the facts, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has now declined to press charges against the student. Gallegos has since been released from jail.
While Cerf's mother, Yema Jones, has recently bashed Gallegos and the other two involved students as well as the DA's office for not filing charges, it was later revealed that Cerf told Gallegos he was carrying a gun.
Since his arrest, new details about who Gallegos is have emerged, including his passion for music and the fact that he is a first-generation Latino student.
According to Fox 11, a month before, Gallegos was profiled by Anneberg Media, a student-run platform that is overseen and funded by the USC's journalism school and in that piece Gallegos is described as a singer, songwriter, producer and composer under the moniker "IDG." He is an East Los Angeles native and was a member of Mariachi Los Troyanos at USC.
Gallegos also founded the non-profit "Project Dream," with the mission of providing guidance and resources to underserved communities impacted by gang violence, substance abuse, and poverty. Fox 11 spoke to a housekeeper at USC's Delta Tau Delta house who said that Gallegos is a member of the fraternity and lives at the house. The housekeeper, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that the violent incident is hitting the fraternity members hard, adding "They're very sad. They're very concerned, very worried."
Those who live near Greek Row said that they have had issues with car break-ins recently. Alina Ritz, said, "My roommate's car got broken into recently. I don't know if it's the same person breaking into cars, but that's an insane outcome [of getting] stabbed to death."
Mark Geragos, Gallegos’ attorney, commented on his release, saying, “This is a terrifying situation. What do you do in a situation like this? I think Ivan did exactly what he was supposed to do, which was to try to stop a crime. Unfortunately, the person he tried to stop it with escalated the matter and that’s where he found himself.”
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Comments
2024-06-24T14:02-0400 | Comment by: Rick
Definitely sounds like he did the right thing. Tried to stop a criminal and the idiot decided to escalate the situation by fighting. Self defense is a thing and this should happen more often.
2024-06-24T15:18-0400 | Comment by: Carlton
I guess the suspect thought he was in San Francisco.