Anthony Nelson III was 20 years old when he died on Tuesday, December 27, 2016, in East Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds in the 4900 block of East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a case of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau.
Nelson was a skateboarder who lived in the area, sheriff's Lt. Joe Mendoza told the Los Angeles Times. Shortly before 8:30 p.m., he was standing in the parking lot of the Belvedere Skatepark when he was stabbed. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:14 p.m.
Investigators said they did not know why he was in the parking lot, and they were not able to get any description of a suspect. People nearby left quickly. "As soon as it happened, the people around him were like, 'I'm out of there,'" Mendoza said. He said Nelson lived nearby and was not a gang member.
The Times reported that the area is predominantly Latino and that "local gang members may have mistaken Nelson for a member of a rival gang." That was a possibility raised by investigators, not a finding, and no suspect was ever publicly named.
Beyond those few facts, almost nothing about Anthony Nelson III has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story, and no other news outlet appears to have reported on the death. His name, with its "III," suggests that he shared it with his father and grandfather, but searches turn up only other men named Anthony Nelson in other states, none of whom can be connected to this death. He surely had family and friends at the skatepark who remember who he was, but that has not entered the public record.
The record does not say whether he was skating that evening or had just arrived, whether he exchanged words with anyone before he was hurt, or how many people were in the lot. Several people were apparently close enough to see what happened, yet none came forward publicly.
East Los Angeles is a large unincorporated community east of downtown Los Angeles and the Boyle Heights neighborhood. It has no city government of its own and is policed by the Sheriff's Department. Cesar E. Chavez Avenue is one of its main commercial streets. Belvedere Park, a county park with a skatepark, is a gathering place for families and young people from across the Eastside.
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 Anthony Nelson III could be found in news archives or public records. More than nine years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was at the Belvedere Skatepark on the evening of December 27, 2016, who saw people leave the parking lot in a hurry that night, or who knew Nelson from skating there, 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 Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500, or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
