Min Yin was 75 years old when he died on Monday, Dec. 26, 2011, more than three months after he was stabbed at work in the downtown Los Angeles industrial district. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of a stab wound to the abdomen he suffered at 1320 E. 18th St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Robbery-Homicide Division case.
He lived in the city of Arcadia and worked at Joy & Louis Corp., a manufacturing business on East 18th Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. A department news release laid out what happened on the morning of Friday, Sept. 2, 2011. At about 8 a.m., a man arrived at the business "to pick up an item that had been previously purchased on August 30, 2011." As he left, two more men arrived and forced their way inside. "A struggle ensued, and one of the suspects stabbed Yin," the release said. The men then left.
Police responded to a 911 call at 8:19 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Times.
He was taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in critical condition and stayed there for months. He died at 9:55 p.m. on Dec. 26, and the next day the Robbery Special Section of the Robbery-Homicide Division took over the case. Police described the attack as an apparent robbery.
In early 2012 detectives released descriptions and sketches of the three men they were seeking. The first was described as a Hispanic man about 6 feet tall, weighing around 180 pounds, with dark hair and brown eyes, in his late 40s. The second was a heavyset Hispanic man about 5 feet 4 inches tall, believed to be in his early 20s, with short dark hair, small eyes and a tattoo on the left side of his neck. The third was a Hispanic man between 5 feet 5 and 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 200 pounds, in his early to mid-30s, who wore a striped shirt that morning. Police called the suspects "armed and extremely dangerous." On Jan. 25, 2012, with the help of Councilwoman Jan Perry, the Los Angeles City Council approved a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification, apprehension and conviction of those responsible.
The 1300 block of East 18th Street lies in the industrial district south and east of downtown Los Angeles, in the area served by the department's Newton Division. The district is filled with factories, warehouses, wholesalers and garment and manufacturing businesses, many of them small family firms. Workers arrive early, and trucks and customers come and go through the morning, so a business there would have been open and busy at 8 a.m.
Homicides in Los Angeles fell steeply in the late 2000s and early 2010s, yet many killings from those years were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Min Yin could be found in news archives or public records. More than 14 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who worked on East 18th Street in late August or early September 2011, who bought from or sold to the business, or who recognizes the descriptions of the three men, 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.
