Beating Victim Found Dead on Sidewalk

A young Latino man was found dead on a Pacoima sidewalk Thursday morning, the apparent victim of a fatal beating, authorities said.

Police have not determined the motive for the killing, although gang activity or drugs may have been involved, said Capt. Kenneth Garner of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division.

LAPD Det. Frank Bishop said the man was “definitely a gangster.”

Residents found the victim about 7 a.m. in the 10200 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Neighbors had walked past the man earlier, but seeing him lying face down, thought he was asleep.

“I thought he was just drunk,” said Maria Martinez, 33, who said she passed the body about 6:45 a.m. as she was taking her kids to school.

Police said the victim, who was about 20, lived about a mile from the site where he was found dead.

The cause of death had not been determined Thursday, but Garner said police believe the man was struck in the head, possibly with a heavy object, sometime between midnight and dawn.

Police are searching for the assailants. Authorities said they had identified the man, but would not release his name until his family was notified.

The residential block was closed to traffic Thursday morning.

Raymond Sedeno, 53, a longtime neighborhood resident, said he thought he heard gunshots around 6 a.m. But then again, he said, he hears gunshots all the time.

Sedeno said he was in a neighborhood gang as a young man, but that the prevalence of guns has increased the danger.

Denise Salmeron, 34, agreed. “I don’t even let my son go outside anymore,” she said.

Police have asked witnesses and anyone with information on the death to call detectives at (818) 834-3115.