Race Robert Uyeki was 18 years old when he died on Sunday, December 12, 2010, in Harbor Gateway. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds in the 21400 block of Halldale Road. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles Police Department's Harbor Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "an 18-year-old Latino." Officers responded to a call "at about 5:55 a.m. that a person had been stabbed," according to an LAPD news release. "When police arrived, they found Uyeki lying on the ground unresponsive. He had stab wounds to the upper torso." He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Times added that his death had not been on the coroner's original list and was included after the paper learned of it from the police release.
In its own release, the LAPD said that "Harbor detectives believe that an unknown suspect(s) stabbed the victim numerous times and left the scene. The suspects have not been identified and no weapons have been recovered. The motive for this crime is unknown." CBS Los Angeles reported that he was from Torrance and that he died about an hour after he was hurt, citing Assistant Chief Ed Winter of the coroner's office. That report described him as "shot and stabbed," while the police and the Times described only stab wounds. The Daily News reported that "detectives believe an unknown number of people stabbed Uyeki and fled."
A memorial listing with Rose Hills gives his full name as Race Robert Uyeki and his dates as January 19, 1992, to December 12, 2010. Genealogy records list him as born in Torrance and buried on December 25, 2010, at Rose Hills, which means his family laid him to rest on Christmas Day, less than two weeks after his death. He was not yet 19. His name is rare, and no other person found in the searches shares it.
Harbor Gateway is a narrow strip of the city of Los Angeles that runs north and south between Torrance, Gardena and Carson, connecting the rest of the city to the harbor at San Pedro and Wilmington. It is a mix of homes, apartment complexes, warehouses and light industry. The 21400 block of Halldale sits close to the Torrance border, near the community where Race grew up.
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 Race Robert Uyeki could be found in news archives or public records. More than 15 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. The stabbing happened just before dawn on a Sunday, which suggests that he may have spent the night with friends or at a gathering nearby. Anyone who was with him that night, or who was in Harbor Gateway near Halldale and the Torrance border in December 2010, may hold information that could help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. At the time, police asked anyone with information to call Harbor area Officers Fernando Rivas or Eddie Yoon at (310) 726-7882. Anyone with information can call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 (877-LAPD-24-7), or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
