Officials Seek to Renew Reward in 1991 Catering Truck Slayings
Five years after the bodies of a catering truck crew were found stabbed and shot to death on a Sun Valley roadside, authorities vowed Tuesday to renew a $25,000 reward for anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
“We have nothing to go on,” said Det. Mike Mejia of the Los Angeles Police Department robbery-homicide division.
The bodies of Ismael Cervantes, 43, his 13-year-old son Ismael Jr., brothers Humberto, 16, and Jesus Sandoval, 19, and Francisco Gasca, 30, were found Dec. 8, 1991, in the 8300 block of La Tuna Canyon Road.
The Tlaquepaque catering truck’s crew was seen two days earlier at one of their usual spots at Lankershim Boulevard and Vanowen Street in North Hollywood, according to authorities. The truck was found the next day abandoned near Lankershim Boulevard and Strathern Street, Mejia said. The bodies were discovered a day later.
After the slayings, the Los Angeles City Council offered the reward but such rewards expire after a few days, Mejia said. He said the reward is likely to be reactivated if someone comes forward with information now.
Mejia said anyone with information can call homicide investigators at (213) 485-2129, or a crime hotline at (800) 78-CRIME.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
