Clifton Joseph Chester Jr. was 22 years old when he died on Thursday, June 7, 2001, in Pacoima, in the northeast San Fernando Valley. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records, as reported by the Los Angeles Times Homicide Report, list the cause as stabbing at 12781 Van Nuys Blvd. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Foothill Division case.
News reports from the time tell a different story about how he died. On June 8, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "a security guard shot and killed a man at a Pacoima Burger King after an argument escalated over a drive-through order." It named the man as Clifton Chester, 22.
According to police, Chester and two other young men drove up to the restaurant in the 12700 block of Van Nuys Boulevard at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday and ordered at the drive-through. A dispute followed "over change or the wrong food," said LAPD Lt. George Rock. The men went inside and argued with employees, and the guard escorted them out and locked the doors. Employees then heard a loud bang and found a hole in a window. "Several [employees] yelled, 'They've got a gun,' and everybody hit the deck," Rock said.
The guard, whose name was not released, called 911 when the men returned and pulled on the doors. Police said that when he saw one of them with what he thought was a gun, he fired three shots, hitting Chester once in the head. The guard and several witnesses said Chester had pointed a pistol, but others among the dozen witnesses said they did not see a gun in his hands. No weapon was found near the restaurant. His brother drove him to Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley, where he died. "No arrests have been made and many questions remain," Rock said.
Relatives said he grew up in Pacoima, was a regular at the restaurant and was the father of a 1-year-old girl. "He's not the type of person who carries a gun," his cousin, Margaret Yancy, told the Times. "They murdered him for no reason." No later report could be found saying whether prosecutors reviewed the shooting or ruled it self-defense.
Pacoima is one of the oldest communities in the northeast San Fernando Valley, a working-class area of small houses, apartments and busy commercial strips. Van Nuys Boulevard is its main street, lined with restaurants, shops and fast-food outlets. The Times noted that this was the second shooting at an eatery on the block since April. The area is patrolled by the LAPD's Foothill Division.
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 Clifton Joseph Chester Jr. could be found in news archives or public records. More than 24 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was at or near the restaurant in the 12700 block of Van Nuys Boulevard on the night of June 6, 2001, may hold information that could help 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).
