Roy Stephen Joseph was 68 years old when he died on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, nearly two weeks after he was assaulted in downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma near West 7th and South Spring streets, at 100 West 7th Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the department's Criminal Gang Homicide Division.
According to the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, Los Angeles police officers responded to the area at about 4 a.m. on Thursday, March 10, 2016, for a battery investigation. Roy was found unconscious in the street, suffering from head trauma. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:23 p.m. on March 22.
Investigators believe that Roy got into an argument with a man who punched him in the head. He fell and hit his head on the curb. A single punch, followed by a fall onto concrete, was enough to cost a 68-year-old man his life.
Police described one of the suspects as a Black man who was 6 feet tall and weighed about 200 pounds, last seen wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt. A white woman who was 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighed about 150 pounds and had blond hair was also believed to have been involved. Neither has been publicly identified.
The case drew more official attention than many downtown deaths. On March 30, 2016, a motion was filed before the Los Angeles City Council to offer a reward in the death of Roy Joseph, stating that "the person responsible for this crime represents an ongoing threat to the safety of the people of Los Angeles." The Times reported a reward of $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible, and the Los Angeles Downtown News also reported on the reward and on a witness account that Roy had been arguing with another man before he was punched.
West 7th and South Spring streets lie in downtown's Historic Core. Spring Street was once known as the Wall Street of the West, and its blocks are lined with grand early 20th-century bank and office buildings, many of them converted into lofts, restaurants and bars during the downtown revival. By 2016 the area drew a lively nightlife crowd, and at 4 a.m. people leaving bars, workers on early shifts, and people without homes could all be on the same streets.
By the mid-2010s Los Angeles was recording roughly 250 to 300 homicides a year, among the lowest totals in decades, yet many of those killings still went unsolved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Roy Stephen Joseph 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 near 7th and Spring streets in the early morning of March 10, 2016, or who recognizes the man and woman described by police, may hold information that could help. The Times listed Det. Doug Pierce and Officer Brian Putnam at 213-996-1891 or 213-996-1889. 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.
