Henry Anthony Cruz was 66 years old when he died on Saturday, August 29, 2015, ten days after he was assaulted in Sylmar. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 13737 Foothill Blvd. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case assigned to its Mission division.
The attack happened on the evening of Wednesday, August 19. Shortly before 9:30 p.m., according to LAPD Det. Juan Santa, "a security guard in the area got into an argument with at least three other people in a restaurant parking lot" in the 13700 block of Foothill Boulevard. A 46-year-old man tried to step in and was pushed away. Then Cruz tried to intervene. The Los Angeles Times reported that he "was pushed down and assaulted by one of the people in the group," and that he "hit his head on the ground."
At first, Cruz refused medical treatment. Later he was taken to a hospital, where he remained for 10 days. He was pronounced dead on August 29 at 6:13 p.m., according to coroner's records. Santa said it was unknown what had sparked the dispute. The assailant fled on foot, and police said they were looking for him. No description of the man was published.
What is known of Henry Anthony Cruz comes almost entirely from that account, but it says something about him. At 66, he stepped into a confrontation that was not his own, after another man had already been shoved aside. Whatever his reasons, the account describes a man who tried to stop a fight rather than walk away from it. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for him, and his name is common enough that searches turn up many other men called Henry Cruz.
Sylmar is the northernmost community in the city of Los Angeles, at the top of the San Fernando Valley where the valley floor meets the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. It is a largely residential area of single-family homes, horse properties and apartment complexes, with many longtime families. Foothill Boulevard runs along the northern edge of the valley through Sylmar and is lined with restaurants, shops and strip malls whose parking lots stay busy into the evening.
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 Henry Anthony Cruz could be found in news archives or public records. More than ten years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. The fight drew at least six people, including a security guard and the 46-year-old man who was pushed away, and it happened in a restaurant parking lot on a busy boulevard. Anyone who was in or near the 13700 block of Foothill Boulevard in Sylmar on the evening of August 19, 2015, may hold information that could help detectives. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. The LAPD asked anyone with information to call the Mission detective desk at 838-9810. 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.
