Jose Chacon was 28 years old when he was found fatally stabbed early on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014, in La Puente, in the San Gabriel Valley. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds in the 15900 block of Old Valley Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
According to Lt. Steve Jauch of the Sheriff's Department, deputies received a call of a man down at about 2:45 a.m. and "discovered Chacon in a parking lot unconscious and bleeding." He was pronounced dead at 3:04 a.m., according to Ed Winter, a spokesman for the coroner's office.
Two days later, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported that coroner's officials had identified him as an El Monte resident. The Tribune said he "was discovered lying in a parking lot behind a business" on Old Valley Boulevard, and that investigators said he "was stabbed several times in the upper torso."
He was pronounced dead at the scene. His relatives could not be reached for comment, and deputies said no arrests had been made.
Those few facts leave much unknown. The record does not say what kind of business the parking lot belonged to, why he was there in the middle of the night, whether he arrived alone or with others, or whether anyone saw or heard the attack. It does not say whether he was robbed, whether he had argued with anyone, or whether detectives ever identified a suspect. The fact that he lived in El Monte, a few miles to the west, suggests that he may have come to the area for a reason that someone else knew about, but the record does not say.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Jose has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found. His first and last names are among the most common in Southern California, and searches turned up many other men named Jose Chacon, including people in Florida, Orange County and other states whose stories have nothing to do with this case. He surely had family, friends and coworkers who remember him, but none of that has entered the public record.
La Puente is a largely residential city in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, surrounded in part by unincorporated county areas and the industrial city of Industry. Old Valley Boulevard runs through a mix of homes, small businesses and commercial lots. El Monte, where Jose lived, is a larger city a short drive to the west, and many people in the area travel between the two for work, family and errands.
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 Jose Chacon 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. Anyone who knew Jose in El Monte or La Puente, who was near the 15900 block of Old Valley Boulevard late on Feb. 11 or early on Feb. 12, 2014, or who knows why he was there that night, 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.
