Jasson Allan Barajas was 39 years old when he died on Friday, January 15, 2021, in Downey. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after being stabbed near 12848 Lakewood Blvd. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Downey Police Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described him only as "a 39-year-old Latino male" who "died Friday, Jan. 15, after being stabbed near 12848 Lakewood Blvd. in Downey."
The address is on one of the city's busiest commercial streets rather than a quiet residential block, which suggests he may have been hurt in a public place, though the record does not say so.
Beyond his name, his age and the place where he died, almost nothing about Jasson Allan Barajas has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no news outlet appears to have reported on the death. He surely had family, friends or neighbors who remember who he was, but none of that has entered the public record.
Because so little has been released, even the basic circumstances remain unknown to the public. The record does not say whether he was stabbed during a fight or a robbery, attacked by a stranger or by someone he knew, or hurt indoors or on the street. It does not say what time of day he was hurt, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether investigators ever identified a suspect.
His first name is spelled in an unusual way, with a double s, which makes it more distinctive than most. Even so, searches turn up only people-search listings and scattered social media comments under the name, none of which can be confidently tied to the man who died on Lakewood Boulevard.
Downey is a city of about 110,000 people in southeast Los Angeles County, between the 605 and 105 freeways and the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel rivers. It is a largely middle-class city of tree-lined residential streets, and it has a long history in the aerospace industry, where work on the Apollo program was carried out. That history is remembered today at the Columbia Memorial Space Center. Lakewood Boulevard is a major north-south route through the city, lined with shopping centers, restaurants, gas stations and offices, and Downey is also home to the oldest operating McDonald's restaurant, which stands on the same boulevard. Such a busy street can carry traffic and pedestrians at nearly any hour, and someone passing by may have seen something without realizing its importance.
Downey has its own police department, which investigates killings within city limits.
Hundreds of people are killed in Los Angeles County every year, and a large share of those killings end without an arrest.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Jasson Allan Barajas could be found in news archives or public records. More than four years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near Lakewood Boulevard in Downey in mid-January 2021, or who knew Jasson Barajas and spent time with him in the days before his death, may hold information that could help. 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 contact the Downey Police Department, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
