David Cota was 23 years old when he was found stabbed to death on Saturday, June 26, 2010, in Montebello. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds near 5th Avenue and Harding Street. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Montebello Police Department.
A woman called 911 at about 12:55 p.m. to report a body in a medical building parking lot, Montebello police Lt. Brad Keller told the Los Angeles Times. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported that Cota was found partially covered in shrubbery in the southwest corner of a parking lot at 433 N. 4th Street, across from Beverly Hospital. Coroner's Lt. Fred Corral said he died from a single stab wound to the chest, and authorities believed he may have been lying there for some time before he was found.
"We're still determining whether he walked there or whether he was dropped off or dumped there," Keller said. Witnesses had heard an altercation at about 11:30 p.m. the night before near North 5th Street and West Harding Avenue, about half a block away, but no one saw Cota being assaulted. Police said they were trying to determine whether he had been involved in that fight. Keller described Cota as a gang member, and the Daily Breeze reported that detectives were looking into a history of rivalry between the gang he was believed to belong to and a gang in East Los Angeles. "We're looking at all different angles," Keller said.
The same weekend, three men were wounded in a drive-by shooting on West Beverly Boulevard, and two more were shot on South Greenwood Avenue on Monday. Police said they were looking at whether any of the violence was connected, but the shooting on Sunday was believed at the time to be unrelated to Cota's death.
Obituary listings from Guerra Gutierrez Mortuary and Rose Hills show that David Cota was born on October 21, 1986, and that he lived in Montebello. The Guerra Gutierrez notice says he "entered into eternal rest June 26, 2010" and names his mother, Estela. No other details of his life have entered the public record. David Cota is also a common name, and searches turn up many other men who share it.
Montebello is a city of about 60,000 people just east of East Los Angeles, in the western San Gabriel Valley. It is largely residential, with tree-lined streets of older homes, and Beverly Boulevard is one of its main commercial roads. Beverly Hospital, a community hospital that has served the area for decades, sits near the place where Cota was found.
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 David Cota 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. Anyone who was near North 5th Street and West Harding Avenue in Montebello on the night of June 25, 2010, or who heard the fight that night, may hold information that could help. At the time, police asked callers to contact the Montebello Police Department at (323) 887-1212. 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 Montebello Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
