Body discovered in parking lot

CENTRAL GLENDALE — Police detectives are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in a Salem Street parking lot adjacent to Clancy’s Crab Broiler Wednesday morning.

A Glendale Public Works employee who was driving through the metered lot found the man’s body about 8 a.m. lying next to a parked luxury car, Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

The man, whose identity wasn’t released pending family notification, was in his 20s or early 30s.

“There are no obvious signs of trauma,” Lorenz said. “We are going to go through the scene with a fine-tooth comb.”

It was too early in the investigation to determine whether the man was associated with any vehicle in the parking lot, he added.

Detectives were also trying to determine whether the man died at the parking lot or was brought and dumped there, Lorenz said.

Detectives will wait on the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death and if there was any foul play involved, he said.

Nancy Haas, who lives in the area and usually walks her dogs in the early morning, said she saw the man on the ground about 7:15 a.m.

The man, she said, was wearing running pants and a T-shirt that was up above his stomach.

“I have never seen him before,” said Haas, who has lived in the neighborhood for 22 years.

His face was purple and the body appeared to be stiff, she said.

Yellow police tape blocked the entrance to the parking lot Wednesday morning as detectives investigated the scene, sifting through trash bins and rummaging through the cars.

Crime is not uncommon in the neighborhood, Haas said, adding that drug dealers frequent the area.

“I am surprised it hasn’t happened before,” Haas said.