Romeo Ortega Garcia was 51 years old when he died on Friday, September 20, 2002, after being stabbed in downtown Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds, and the place of injury was listed as 340 S. Hill St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case, assigned to the Central Division.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him as "a 51-year-old Asian male" who "died Friday, Sept. 20, after being stabbed in Downtown." A news release issued by the LAPD gave a fuller account. It said Central Area homicide detectives were "investigating the stabbing death of a 51 year-old male Filipino."
According to that release, at about 6:50 p.m. that Friday, "the victim was involved in a verbal confrontation with a male Hispanic in the 300 block of South Hill Street for unknown reasons."
The release said that "the dispute escalated and the suspect armed himself with a knife and stabbed the victim in the upper torso." Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics took him to USC Medical Center, where he was treated, but "the victim failed to respond and was pronounced dead at the hospital."
The release was plain about the state of the investigation. "The suspect in this case has not been identified at this time," it said. It added that his identity had been established and that his next of kin had been notified, which suggests he had family who could be reached, though it did not say who they were or where they lived. Police did not release a more detailed description of the man with the knife, and no later update appears to have been issued.
What began the argument has never been made public. The killing happened in the early evening on one of downtown's busiest streets, at an hour when workers, shoppers and transit riders are often still on the sidewalks, which suggests that other people may have seen or heard part of the confrontation. No news story, obituary or memorial page about Romeo Ortega Garcia could be found, and searches for his name mostly return other men called Romeo Garcia in Texas, the Philippines and elsewhere.
The 300 block of South Hill Street lies in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles, near Pershing Square and the Grand Central Market. Angels Flight, the short funicular railway up Bunker Hill, has its lower station on Hill Street, and a Metro Red Line station sits beneath Pershing Square. The LAPD's Central Division, headquartered downtown, investigated the case.
Homicides in Los Angeles rose sharply in the early 2000s, climbing past 600 in 2002, and detectives carried heavy caseloads. Many killings from those years were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Romeo Ortega Garcia could be found in news archives or public records. More than 23 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on South Hill Street near Third Street around 6:50 p.m. on September 20, 2002, or who knew a 51-year-old Filipino man named Romeo Garcia downtown, may hold information that could help. The LAPD release asked anyone with information to contact Central Homicide 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 (877-LAPD-24-7), or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477).
