Friends of college student booked for murder of homeless man claim he acted in self-defense



A teen who is currently in jail in L.A. County on suspicion of murder of a homeless man acted in self-defense, his friends say.

Just after 8 p.m. on Monday, 19-year-old Ivan Gallegos and two friends heard the sound of a car alarm nearby. After calling police, they then went to investigate the alarm for themselves.

'Throughout his childhood, Ivan navigated the realities of both his parents’ involvement in gang activities, leading to their intermittent incarceration.'

They found a 27-year-old homeless man sitting in a car that belonged to one of their other friends who was not present at the time. The car was parked on private property along the University of Southern California's Fraternity Row.

The three young men confronted the vagrant, who may have broken into other cars in the area as well. When the men demanded that he leave the area, the vagrant retorted that he had a gun on him and that the car now belonged to him, Los Angeles magazine reported.

A scuffle then ensued, and the homeless man allegedly reached for his waistband, according to a GoFundMe account established for Gallegos, ostensibly prompting Gallegos to stab the man in self-defense. The vagrant died from his injuries at the scene.

It is unclear why Gallegos may have had a knife on him. No gun was ever recovered from the scene.

"He feared for his life," one of Gallegos’ friends told L.A. magazine. "He had to defend himself."

"When I heard what happened, I immediately knew it wasn't because he had malintent," another said. "Something had to have happened in order for him to do what he did."

Despite their claims of self-defense, police immediately arrested Gallegos on suspicion of murder and booked him into county jail, where he remains on $2 million bail, as Blaze News previously reported. As of Tuesday morning, the DA had not filed any charges against him.

Gallegos is a member of Delta Tau Delta who just completed his sophomore year at USC, studying business. On his LinkedIn profile, he also claims to be the first in his family to go to college.

According to a feature piece from USC Annenberg Media, Gallegos grew up in L.A. under difficult circumstances. "Throughout his childhood, Ivan navigated the realities of both his parents’ involvement in gang activities, leading to their intermittent incarceration," the article said, adding that as a child, he was frequently exposed to "drugs, gangs, and prostitution."

The area where the stabbing occurred is also rife with violence and crime, largely on account of the high homeless population, other USC students claimed.

"Street lights, a lot of them, you'll find, are out," one student said. "What's happening is they're tearing out these boxes and selling them, getting money for them, so they're taking the copper wire. It's a whole thing around here."

Another student insisted that while the USC campus is generally "pretty safe," "everybody is aware that some of the surrounding areas aren't as safe."

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19-year-old student stabs and kills homeless man who was breaking into cars near USC, police say



California police say a 19-year-old college student stabbed and killed a homeless man who was trying to steal cars outside of the University of Southern California.

The Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement that officers responded to a call of assault with a deadly weapon at about 8:15 p.m. on Monday on West 28th street.

'The guys back there are pretty aggressive. A lot of homeless live there ... It's expected.'

They found a homeless man with injuries from a stabbing, and he was declared dead at the scene.

Police said that Ivan Gallegos stayed at the scene and told them that he had stabbed the man after confronting him for trying to break into cars on Greek Row where students lived.

"The male victim was breaking into vehicles at the location when the suspect confronted and stabbed the victim," the LAPD said in a statement.

Gallegos, who is a resident of Los Angeles, was held on suspicion of murder and given a $2 million bail. The victim was said to be in his thirties, but his identity was not released to the public.

A spokesperson for the Delta Tau Delta fraternity confirmed that Gallegos was a member and a student of USC.

'Witnesses reported seeing a trail of blood between fraternity houses.'

LAPD Chief Dominic Choi said that Gallegos told police the homeless man claimed to have a gun. Sources told the Los Angeles Times that police found no gun at the scene.

Scott Conner, another member of the fraternity, told the Los Angeles Times that car break-ins by the homeless were becoming commonplace incidents.

“The guys back there are pretty aggressive. A lot of homeless live there. There’s been this whole school year serial break-ins, cars and houses,” said Conner. “It’s expected.”

Witnesses reported seeing a trail of blood between fraternity houses.

A report about Gallegos said that he was an electronic music artist but was raised with difficult family circumstances.

“Throughout his childhood, Ivan navigated the realities of both his parents’ involvement in gang activities, leading to their intermittent incarceration,” said the USC Annenberg Media. “Despite growing up in an environment saturated with drugs, gangs and prostitution, he focused on music and sharpened his skills to become a multifaceted instrument and vocalist.”

The Times also spoke to Adam Pierpoint, a homeless man who was sleeping in the area of the stabbing. He said that students don't bother him but that he was not surprised that a student allegedly confronted a person who was breaking into a car.

“I’m homeless, but I’m not a pest,” said Pierpoint.

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