Shannon James Stephenson was 49 years old when he died on Friday, July 27, 2018, in Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at the corner of West 14th Street and Pacific Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Long Beach Police Department homicide case.
Long Beach police officers were sent to the intersection around 9:40 p.m. that night on a report of a vehicle-pedestrian collision, according to a department news release. They found Stephenson lying in the street. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:59 p.m., according to coroner's records. The cause of death was listed as "blunt force traumatic injuries."
What first looked like a traffic collision soon became a homicide investigation. According to the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, "Investigators believe the driver intentionally struck Stephenson, but they have not released a motive or a description of a suspect." No description of the driver or the vehicle has been made public.
Shannon was born on April 26, 1969. An online obituary records his dates of birth and death and notes that his arrangements were in the care of Stricklin/Snively Mortuary in Long Beach. In December 2018, his name was among dozens listed for an annual Long Beach service for homeless people who had died that year, held at Forest Lawn mortuary on San Antonio Drive. That suggests he was living without stable housing at the time of his death, though the public record says little else about his life.
The intersection of West 14th Street and Pacific Avenue lies in the central part of Long Beach, north of downtown. The area is densely built, with apartment buildings, older homes and small businesses, and its streets carry steady traffic into the evening. A driver who deliberately hit a man on foot at a corner like this one, at night, may well have been seen by someone nearby, even if that person did not understand what they were watching.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest. A killing carried out with a car can be especially hard to solve, because the weapon drives away with the killer.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Shannon James Stephenson 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 was near West 14th Street and Pacific Avenue on the night of July 27, 2018, who knew Shannon, or who noticed a vehicle with fresh front-end damage in Long Beach that summer may hold information that could help. The case was assigned to Long Beach Police Detectives Mark Mattia and Donald Goodman. 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 Long Beach Police Department's Homicide Detail at 562-570-7244, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
