Jubal Guevara-Trinidad was 55 years old when he died on Sunday, February 13, 2011, in Historic South-Central Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 125 E. 43rd St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Newton Division case.
He was a Latino man who, according to a public death-index listing, was born on May 24, 1955, and lived in Los Angeles. His death began with what looked like a traffic accident. According to the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, police received a radio call about a traffic collision in the early morning hours. When authorities arrived in the 100 block of East 43rd Street, they pronounced him dead at the scene, said LAPD Newton Det. Tommy Thompson, who was handling the case.
The coroner's records described something far worse than an ordinary collision. According to those records, he was "struck by vehicle multiple times and drug." During the investigation, detectives learned that "a fight led to Guevara-Trinidad being hit by a car in an alleyway," the Times reported.
The early investigation appeared to move quickly. Thompson said investigators had the vehicle and had identified a person of interest. Citing the ongoing investigation, he declined to provide additional details, although he noted that the incident was not gang-related. The person of interest was never named in the public record, and no later report could be found saying that anyone was arrested or charged. The fact that he was struck more than once, after a fight, suggests that the driver may have known the victim or been part of the dispute, but police did not say so publicly.
Beyond those details, very little about Jubal has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story. His full name, with its double surname, is distinctive, and searches for it turned up only the death-index listing and short entries drawn from the Times record.
Historic South-Central is one of the oldest neighborhoods south of downtown Los Angeles. Central Avenue, which runs through the area, was for decades the heart of Black Los Angeles and in the 1940s was famous for its jazz clubs. Today the neighborhood is home to many working families, with small houses, older apartment buildings, corner markets and narrow alleys running behind the residential blocks. The Newton Division handles crime in this part of the city.
Homicides in Los Angeles fell steeply in the late 2000s and early 2010s, yet many killings from those years were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Jubal Guevara-Trinidad could be found in news archives or public records. More than 14 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Detectives said early on that they had the vehicle and a person of interest, which means that someone who saw the fight, who knows who was driving, or who heard talk about it afterward could still help bring the case to a close. Anyone who was near East 43rd Street in Historic South-Central in the early morning hours of February 13, 2011, may hold information that matters. At the time, the Times asked tipsters to contact Det. Thompson at 846-6556. 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.
