Percy Jones

Percy Jones was 50 years old when he died on Monday, August 25, 2008, a day after he was stabbed in an alley in Westlake, just west of downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds, and the address recorded for his case was 677 S. Hoover St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case.

The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "50, a black man," who "was stabbed to death about 11 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, in Westlake during a dispute in an alley near 7th and Hoover streets, near Koreatown." Officer Julianne Sohn of the LAPD's media relations office told the paper that Jones "was involved in a dispute with several men." She said the men "began punching and kicking Jones, and one of them stabbed him several times with a knife." He was taken by ambulance to County-USC Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead the next day.

His family learned what had happened only slowly. According to the Times, relatives heard about his death from a coroner's investigator two days later. They searched the Web for news of a homicide in the alley and were frustrated to find no coverage at all. On Saturday, Aug. 30, they called the Times newsdesk and were given the details. "I'm stunned," said his uncle, Anthony Cook. The coroner "told me they found him in the alley, but nothing about him being stabbed." Cook said his nephew had left for Lancaster that Sunday morning and "didn't tell me he was going anywhere in downtown."

Cook's daughter, Tamiko, said her cousin "liked to be outdoors and was trying to get his own apartment." She told the paper that Jones' longtime girlfriend had died of a stroke in 2001. Those few words are the only picture of his life in the public record. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found. Percy Jones is a common name, and searches turn up many other men who share it, none of whom can be tied to this death.

The police account says several men took part, which means more than one person knows exactly who used the knife. Westlake is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Los Angeles, centered on MacArthur Park and crowded with apartment buildings, small shops, street vendors and busy bus lines. Seventh Street is one of its main east-west corridors, and Hoover Street runs north and south toward Koreatown, which lies just to the west.

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 Percy Jones could be found in news archives or public records. More than 17 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was near 7th and Hoover streets on the night of August 24, 2008, who saw a group of men fighting in an alley there, or who knew Percy Jones and why he was in the area that night, 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. 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).