Ernest Salazar was 48 years old when he died on Sunday, August 9, 2009, in Pico Rivera. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 9319 Beverly Road. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case handled by the Homicide Bureau.
Ernest lived in Pico Rivera and was a father of three and a grandfather. A Rose Hills memorial listing gives his dates as August 6, 1961, to August 9, 2009. According to the Daily News, two days after his birthday he went out with a friend to celebrate. The friend apparently went home first. Ernest was at the Wagon Wheel bar on Beverly Road, where, detectives said, he got into an argument with someone and was told to leave. He did.
At about 3:30 a.m., a passerby found his body in an alley north of the 9300 block of Beverly Road, not far from his home. Sheriff's officials first reported the death as a shooting, but the coroner found that he died of "multiple blunt trauma inflicted by another" after being struck in the head with an unknown object. "We don't know what he was hit with," Detective Q. Rodriguez told the San Gabriel Valley newspapers. "We don't believe he was hit by a car at this time." The detective said someone had claimed to hear gunshots, though investigators never found that person.
A witness saw Ernest alive in the alley about an hour before he was found. "He was in a crouched position in the alley resting his head on his hands according to a witness," Rodriguez said. Investigators said Ernest had ties to a street gang when he was younger but was not active, and his family agreed.
His sister, Mary Salazar, said, "He was a good man that had good character. To know him was to love him." Irene Lara, who was married to him for two decades, described him as "happy go lucky" and said he loved the Raiders and the Lakers. In June 2010 the Daily News reported that the case was still unsolved. "We know someone out there knows what happened or the killer told them," Rodriguez said. He was following up on an anonymous tip. Lara pleaded for help: "If they know something, please."
Pico Rivera is a city of about 60,000 people in southeast Los Angeles County, set between the Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel River. It incorporated in 1958, joining the older communities of Pico and Rivera, and is largely a city of single-family homes, with long-established families and small businesses along its main streets. The city contracts with the Sheriff's Department for police services.
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 Ernest Salazar could be found in news archives or public records. More than 16 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was at the Wagon Wheel bar on Beverly Road on the night of August 8, 2009, or near the alley in the early morning of August 9, 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
