David Joseph Lopez was 41 years old when he died on Thursday, September 1, 2016, in Pomona. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 1575 N. White Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Pomona Police Department case.
He did not die on the day he was hurt. At about 2:50 p.m. on Friday, August 19, 2016, authorities responded to a call about an unresponsive man in Ganesha Park, Pomona Police Sgt. Brian Hagerty told the Los Angeles Times. Officers found Lopez, who was described as a transient, with injuries to his head. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition. He held on for nearly two weeks before he was pronounced dead at 6:14 a.m. on September 1, according to coroner's records.
Police said at the time that they were investigating his death, and they did not say how he was hurt or whether they had identified a suspect. The public record does not say whether he was attacked where he was found or somewhere else, whether he had been sleeping in the park, or whether anyone saw what happened. His name later appeared on a list of Pomona homicide victims kept by a community Facebook page, Pomona, Let's Take Our Hometown Back, which recorded his age, the date of his death, the White Avenue address and the cause as blunt force trauma.
Beyond those details, almost nothing about David Joseph Lopez has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found. David Lopez is one of the most common names in Southern California, and none of the many records under that name could be tied to the man who died in Pomona. He surely had family and friends who remember him, but none of that has entered the public record.
Pomona is a city at the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, known as the home of Cal Poly Pomona and of the Fairplex, where the Los Angeles County Fair is held each year. Ganesha Park is one of the city's older and larger parks, in the northern part of Pomona. Like many city parks in the region, it has also been a place where unhoused people sleep and spend their days.
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 David Joseph Lopez could be found in news archives or public records. More than nine years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was in or near Ganesha Park on August 19, 2016, or who knew David Lopez from the park or the streets of north Pomona, 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. At the time, police asked anyone with information to call the Pomona Police Department at 622-1241 or 620-2085. Anyone with information can contact the Pomona Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
