William Rolando Garcia was 37 years old when he died on Wednesday, November 27, 2002, in Westlake. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 1342 W. 2nd St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Rampart Division case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report recorded his death in a single sentence drawn from coroner's records. It gave his age, listed him as a Latino man, named the address on West 2nd Street and noted the cause of death. No follow-up story appears to have been published.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about William Rolando Garcia 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. William Garcia is one of the most common name combinations in Southern California, and searches for the full name returned records for other men in Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and several U.S. states. None of them describe the man who died in Westlake.
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.
The date stands out. November 27, 2002, was the day before Thanksgiving, when many families in Los Angeles were preparing to gather. Whoever was waiting for William Rolando Garcia that holiday would have learned of his death at a time meant for celebration.
Westlake is a densely populated neighborhood just west of downtown Los Angeles, centered on MacArthur Park and its lake. It was a fashionable district in the early 20th century, and many of its older hotels, apartment buildings and churches still stand. By 2002 it had become one of the most crowded parts of the city, home to large numbers of working families, many of them immigrants from Mexico and Central America, living in older apartment buildings. The area was patrolled by the LAPD's Rampart Division.
Homicides in Los Angeles rose sharply in the early 2000s, climbing past 600 in 2002, and detectives carried heavy caseloads. Many killings from those years were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of William Rolando Garcia could be found in news archives or public records. More than 23 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who lived on or near West 2nd Street in Westlake in November 2002, or who knew a 37-year-old man named William Rolando Garcia, his family or his friends, 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 call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
