Eric Shinya Hirokane was 37 years old when he died on Friday, September 8, 2006, in Torrance. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at Western Avenue and West 182nd Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Torrance Police Department case.
Eric was born on December 15, 1968. His obituary from Fukui Mortuary described him as a "Torrance, CA born resident of Gardena." According to the death notice published in the Daily Breeze, he was the "loving son of Kenso and Yoko Hirokane" and the brother of Wayne Kazuya Hirokane and Dr. Laurie Yuko Hirokane. He was also survived by an aunt, cousins and "many other relatives in Japan." A public visitation was held on Friday, September 15, 2006, at Gardena Valley Baptist Church on West 158th Street in Gardena, and his funeral service was held there the next evening.
Eric was also the founder of a clothing line. The Facebook page of 110 South, a brand that describes itself as "representing West Coast streetwear," says that " he line was founded by Eric Hirokane in 1998." The name may refer to the Harbor Freeway, Interstate 110, which runs south past Gardena toward the harbor. Four years after his death, the brand's blog posted a tribute titled "Rest In Peace Eric Hirokane-September 8th, 2006," along with other memorial posts, which suggests that the people who worked with him kept his memory alive long after he was gone.
None of these tributes say how he died. Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was beaten in a fight, attacked by a stranger, assaulted indoors or on the street, or struck by a vehicle, all of which can lead to a finding of blunt force trauma. It does not say what time of day he was hurt, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Torrance is a large city in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, known for its beaches, its oil refinery and the Del Amo Fashion Center, one of the largest shopping malls in the country. For decades it was also the American headquarters of Toyota. Torrance and neighboring Gardena have long had one of the largest Japanese American communities in Southern California, with Japanese markets, restaurants and churches that serve families who have lived in the area for generations. Western Avenue is a busy north-south thoroughfare that runs through this part of the South Bay, lined with shops, apartment buildings and industrial lots.
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 Eric Shinya Hirokane could be found in news archives or public records. More than 19 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near Western Avenue and West 182nd Street in September 2006, or who knew Eric through his family, his church or his clothing line, may hold information that could help. 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 Torrance Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
