Albert Cantu Gutierrez was 43 years old when he died on Saturday, May 8, 2004, in Altadena, an unincorporated community in the foothills north of Pasadena. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 2612 N. Lincoln Ave. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case, handled by its Homicide Bureau.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report gave only the most basic facts. It described him as "a 43-year-old Latino male" who "died Saturday, May 8, after sustaining blunt force trauma in Altadena, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records." The entry named no detective, offered no account of what happened and did not ask the public for help.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Albert Cantu Gutierrez has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the death. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record. Albert Gutierrez is a common name, and searches turn up obituaries for men in Indiana, Washington state, Orange County and Texas, none of whom can be tied to the man who died in Altadena in May 2004. His middle name, Cantu, may be a family surname, but the record does not explain it.
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.
Altadena sits at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, directly north of Pasadena. Because it has never become a city, it is policed by the Sheriff's Department from its Altadena station rather than by a city police force. The community is largely made up of single-family homes on tree-lined streets, many of them older houses on large lots, and it has long been known as a place where families of many backgrounds put down roots, including generations of Black and Latino families. Lincoln Avenue is one of the main north-south streets on the community's west side.
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 Albert Cantu Gutierrez could be found in news archives or public records. More than 21 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Albert, who lived near the 2600 block of North Lincoln Avenue in Altadena in May 2004, or who heard about a man being badly hurt in that area, may know something 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
