Joseph Alcaraz was 17 years old when he died in the first minutes of Sunday, June 8, 2014, after a fight at a party in Carson. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds suffered in the 18600 block of Towne Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
He was a teenager from Lennox, according to the Daily Breeze, which reported that he was stabbed at about 11:55 p.m. on Saturday, June 7. The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report wrote that "Alcaraz was stabbed during an altercation at a party," citing Lt. Steve Jauch of the Sheriff's Department. After the fight, Alcaraz left the gathering with other people in a dark-colored sedan, but the car "had to pull over about two blocks away at East 184th Street and Avalon Boulevard," Jauch said.
A sheriff's spokeswoman described the same moments to the Daily Breeze.
"Following the fight, some of the men involved left the party in a vehicle," Deputy Crystal Hernandez said. "They made it several blocks away before having to pull over." Paramedics were called to the corner and tried to treat him there, but he was pronounced dead at 12:05 a.m., according to coroner's records.
He was not the only person hurt. A Sheriff's Department news release said that when deputies arrived on an "assault with a deadly weapon" call, they found the victims sitting outside a vehicle parked along the curb and learned they had been in a fight at a nearby party. Four other people who were involved in the fight were taken to hospitals and treated, and they were expected to survive.
None of the published reports said what started the fight, how many people were at the party, or whether anyone was identified as the person who used a knife. With so many people present at a crowded house party, it is likely that more than a few witnesses saw at least part of what happened, which makes the silence that followed all the more striking. No later story about the case appears in the saved record, and no obituary or memorial page for him could be found.
Carson is a city in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, made up largely of single-family neighborhoods along with industrial and commercial areas. It is home to California State University, Dominguez Hills. Avalon Boulevard is one of its main north-south roads. Lennox, where Joseph lived, is a small unincorporated community a few miles to the northwest, just east of Los Angeles International Airport and beneath its flight path.
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 Joseph Alcaraz could be found in news archives or public records. More than 11 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. The people who were at the party on Towne Avenue on the night of June 7, 2014, or who rode in the car that stopped at 184th Street and Avalon Boulevard, may know exactly what happened to a 17-year-old from Lennox. 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.
