Dominic Brandon Pickens was 16 years old when he died on Saturday, July 17, 2021, in Willowbrook. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds near 2401 El Segundo Blvd. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The coroner's record describes him as a Black teenager. His obituary, posted through Rose Hills Memorial Park, says that "Dominic B Pickens, age 16, of Compton, California passed away on Saturday, July 17, 2021," and that he "was born September 7, 2004." He was only a couple of months short of his 17th birthday.
He also left a small trace in the entertainment world. A page on IMDb lists a performer called Domo whose birth name is given as Dominic Brandon Pickens, born Sept. 7, 2004, and who died on July 17, 2021, in Willowbrook, with the cause noted as a stabbing.
The page does not say much more, but it suggests that he may have taken part in at least one film, video or other production before his death.
A memorial listing for him on pomcla.org repeats the coroner's description of his death and gives the city of the killing as Compton. It names Lt. Mike Gomez of the Sheriff's Department as a contact for the case. The listing describes him as 17 years of age, while the coroner and his obituary give his age as 16.
Beyond these records, very little has been made public. No news story about the stabbing could be found. The record does not say whether he was hurt during a fight or a robbery, whether he knew the person who stabbed him, what time of day it happened, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
Willowbrook is an unincorporated community in South Los Angeles County, between the city of Los Angeles and Compton, and its policing is handled by the Sheriff's Department. It is home to the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Metro station, where several rail lines meet, sits near the heart of the area. El Segundo Boulevard is one of the main east-west roads crossing the community, lined with homes, small businesses and apartment buildings.
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 Dominic Brandon Pickens could be found in news archives or public records. More than four years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew him, who was on or near El Segundo Boulevard in Willowbrook in July 2021, or who heard talk afterward among teenagers in Compton or Willowbrook about what happened to him, 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.
