Daniel Contreras was 18 years old when he died early on Sunday, February 4, 2007, in the Harbor Gateway area of Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 650 W. Alondra Blvd. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Southeast Division case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described Daniel as "an 18-year-old Latino man" who "was stabbed at 650 W. Alondra Blvd. by the Harbor Freeway north of the Artesia Freeway." His time of death was listed as 12:50 a.m. According to the report, police said "he had left a party to go to a liquor store with a 24-year-old acquaintance." The suspects were described only as Latino. The report said the case "remains under investigation, still unsolved as of November, 2007."
More than two years after his death, the case was still open, and detectives went back to the public.
In an update dated March 11, 2009, the Times wrote that "Los Angeles Police detectives urgently want to talk to anyone who knew Contreras well, or who might have any information related to this case." The update asked readers to call Det. Mark Hahn at (213) 485-4341 or (562) 201-6598, and it was published with a photograph of Daniel. That appeal suggests that, even then, detectives believed people who knew him might hold answers they had not yet shared.
The few known facts sketch a short walk on a weekend night. Daniel had been at a party and set out for a liquor store with an older acquaintance. Somewhere along the way he was stabbed. The report does not say who the acquaintance was, whether that person was hurt, what led to the attack, or how many attackers there were. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser for Daniel could be found, and searches for his name mostly turn up other men named Daniel Contreras, a common name across California and the Southwest.
Harbor Gateway is a narrow strip of the city of Los Angeles that runs south from the rest of the city toward the harbor, linking the main part of Los Angeles with San Pedro and Wilmington. It is a mix of homes, apartments, small businesses and industrial properties, bordered by neighboring cities on both sides. Alondra Boulevard is a busy east-west street, and the spot where Daniel was stabbed was described by the Times as being near the Harbor Freeway, one of the main routes between downtown Los Angeles and the port.
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 Daniel Contreras could be found in news archives or public records. More than 18 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Daniel was a teenager who left a party with someone he knew and never came home. The acquaintance who walked with him, the people at the party, and anyone who was near Alondra Boulevard and the Harbor Freeway in the early hours of February 4, 2007, may know what happened that night. The Times listed Det. Mark Hahn at (213) 485-4341 for information on the case. 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).
