Alfonzo Troy Gordon was 52 years old when he died on Sunday, August 19, 2018, in the Vermont Vista area of South Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma on the 110 Freeway near the 105 Freeway. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a California Highway Patrol South Los Angeles case.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Alfonzo Troy Gordon 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. His full name is an uncommon one, yet no other public record could be tied to him with any certainty.
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 location is given as a stretch of freeway rather than a street address, and the case belongs to the California Highway Patrol, which patrols the state freeways, rather than to the Los Angeles Police Department. That suggests he may have been struck by a vehicle on or near the freeway, possibly by a driver who did not stop, since a death caused by a vehicle can be ruled a homicide when a driver is believed to be at fault. It is also possible that he was assaulted on a shoulder, ramp or overpass. The public record does not say which.
The 110 Freeway, also called the Harbor Freeway, runs from downtown Los Angeles south to San Pedro and is one of the busiest roads in the region. Its junction with the 105, the Glenn Anderson Freeway, is a towering multilevel interchange. Vermont Vista is a working-class residential neighborhood of South Los Angeles near that junction, made up largely of modest single-family homes, with Vermont Avenue as its main commercial street.
Someone driving that stretch on August 19, 2018, may remember a person on foot near the lanes, a vehicle stopped on the shoulder, or a car with fresh damage leaving the area.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Alfonzo Troy Gordon could be found in news archives or public records. More than seven years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who traveled the 110 Freeway near the 105 interchange in mid-August 2018, or who knew Alfonzo Troy Gordon, may hold information that could help investigators. 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 contact the California Highway Patrol's South Los Angeles Area office, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
