Harold Loftis was 69 years old when he died on Tuesday, April 29, 2008, two weeks after he was punched at a bus stop in Northridge. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at Roscoe Boulevard and Reseda Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case, handled by the Devonshire Division.
According to coroner's records cited by the Los Angeles Times, Loftis "was a transient who was assaulted April 15. He was taken to a hospital, where he stayed until he died of head trauma two weeks later." A longer Homicide Report post filled in more of the story. According to Det. Mike Fesperman of the Devonshire Division, Loftis "was pacing back and forth in front of a bus stop at Roscoe and Reseda boulevards about 10 p.m. Monday, April 14." Fesperman said "a Latino man walking by punched him in the face."
Loftis was taken to the hospital and "remained in the intensive-care unit for at least two weeks, until he was declared brain dead." The post said he was pronounced dead at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, and it gave that date as Thursday, May 1, while the coroner's listing used April 29. The record does not explain the difference.
Fesperman described the suspect as "a Latino man in his 20s, 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds." The Times also noted that Loftis was one of four homeless men in Los Angeles County killed in a two-week period that spring. Nothing in the record suggests the punch followed an argument, which suggests it may have been a sudden attack by a stranger, though that is not certain.
Fesperman said Loftis was born in Tennessee. Beyond that, little about his life has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and the record does not say how long he had been living on the streets or whether he had family in California. Other men named Harold Loftis appear in Tennessee records, none of whom can be tied to this case.
The corner of Roscoe and Reseda boulevards is one of the major intersections of Northridge, in the northern San Fernando Valley. Both streets are wide, busy commercial corridors lined with strip malls, gas stations and bus stops, and California State University, Northridge, is a short distance to the north. At 10 p.m. on a Monday, the corner would still have had traffic and people waiting for buses.
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 Harold Loftis could be found in news archives or public records. More than 17 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was at or near the bus stop at Roscoe and Reseda boulevards on the night of April 14, 2008, or who knew a young man who talked about punching an older homeless man there, may hold the information detectives needed. 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.
