Yon Chreng was 27 years old when he died early on Saturday, March 24, 2012, on the street outside his home in Long Beach. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 1120 Stanley Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Long Beach Police Department case.
At about 12:50 a.m., the driver of a green Dodge pickup truck heading north in the 1100 block of Stanley Avenue struck a parked car. The car belonged to Chreng's girlfriend and was parked in front of his house. Chreng ran out into the street and tried to wave the driver down to keep him from fleeing. Long Beach police said that "detectives believe the driver aimed his vehicle at running him down and dragging him a short distance before striking three additional parked vehicles." Chreng was pinned beneath the vehicles and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver got out of the truck and ran away on foot, leaving it behind.
A neighbor, Frankie Watson, told reporters she was asleep when she heard a loud crash and looked outside to see the truck's wheels spinning. "He was still burning rubber, trying to get away or something," she said. The case began as a hit-and-run but was soon taken over by homicide detectives.
Chreng, known to his family as Eley, lived with his mother and siblings on Stanley Avenue near Junipero Avenue and was part of a large, close Cambodian-American family. "We miss him so much," his cousin Phalika Chhuon said. He was survived by his parents, nine siblings, and, in his cousin's words, "many nieces and nephews who are confused and questioning where their uncle has gone." His funeral was held on Sunday, April 1, 2012, at Stricklin Mortuary on Long Beach Boulevard. Friends said they were not surprised he had tried to stop the driver. "If he saw something that was wrong, he would do what he could to make it right," said Mike Vu.
On April 13, 2012, Long Beach police announced that an arrest warrant had been issued for Francisco Javier Saucedo, a 22-year-old Gardena man, on suspicion of murder. Police released his photo and description in the hope that someone would help them find him. No later report of his arrest could be found.
Long Beach is the second-largest city in Los Angeles County and is home to one of the largest Cambodian communities in the United States. Stanley Avenue is a residential street of homes and apartment buildings in central Long Beach.
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 Yon Chreng could be found in news archives or public records. More than 13 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knows where Francisco Javier Saucedo went after March 2012, or who was on Stanley Avenue that night, 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. 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.
