Pedro Flores Gutierrez was 66 years old when he died on Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma near 1238 East Olympic Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case.
He was a Latino man in his mid-60s, recorded under both of his family names, Flores and Gutierrez. Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Pedro Flores Gutierrez has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the death. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was beaten in a fight, attacked by a stranger, assaulted indoors or on the street, or struck by a vehicle, all of which can lead to a finding of blunt force trauma. It does not say what time of day he was hurt, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
The 1200 block of East Olympic Boulevard is on the eastern edge of downtown Los Angeles, in an industrial area between the Fashion District, the produce markets and the Los Angeles River. It is a district of wholesale businesses, warehouses, loading docks and garment factories, busy with trucks and workers during the day and much emptier at night. Many people without homes live in tents and vehicles along the side streets nearby, on the outskirts of Skid Row. Older men living on the street or working in the area are especially vulnerable to attacks that go unseen.
He died on March 17, 2020, in the very first days of the pandemic shutdown. That same week, Los Angeles closed restaurants and bars, and on March 19 Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the statewide stay-at-home order. In the confusion of those days, the death of a 66-year-old man from blunt force injuries on East Olympic Boulevard does not appear to have been reported by any news outlet.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Pedro Flores Gutierrez could be found in news archives or public records. More than six years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. People who work along East Olympic Boulevard, or who lived on the nearby streets in March 2020, may remember a fight, an argument or a police response, and anyone who knew him may hold information that could help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
