Jessey Chavira was 19 years old when he died on Tuesday, August 5, 2014, in Citrus, an unincorporated community just outside Azusa. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 5526 Orangeglen Avenue. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune identified him as "a 19-year-old Las Vegas man" and described a death that puzzled investigators from the start. He was found "badly wounded lying in a pool of blood about 3:30 p.m. outside a home." Lt. Ed Hernandez of the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau told the paper: "He was discovered by his mother, lying in the driveway covered in blood." His mother called for help, but he died at the scene. "His injuries appear to be consistent with some type of an assault," Hernandez said, and the injuries "were initially described as possible stab wounds."
At first, he said, "We're investigating it as a suspicious death."
According to the Tribune, Chavira "had last been seen alive inside the house about noon, a little more than three hours before he was found bleeding in the driveway." He was wearing basketball shorts and other casual clothes. Early rumors that he had been stabbed as he got out of a car "were determined to be unfounded." No one reported hearing or seeing anything unusual, and several people from the home went to the sheriff's San Dimas Station to give statements, "though the interviews shed little light on what happened." Neighbors could not help either. "Nobody could give us even a brief suspect description," Hernandez said. "It's very bizarre." Detectives were also looking into his background and what he was doing in Southern California.
An online obituary for Jessey Chavira, listed with a Las Vegas funeral provider, says that he "passed away and went to Heaven on August 5, 2014 in Azusa, California." Beyond that, little about his life has been made public, and the record does not say how long he had been in the area or why he was staying on Orangeglen Avenue.
Citrus is a small unincorporated community in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, surrounded by the cities of Azusa, Covina and Glendora. It is mostly made up of quiet residential streets of single-family homes, and because it is not part of any city, it is patrolled by the Sheriff's Department. A death in a driveway in the middle of a weekday afternoon, on a street like this, is the kind of event that neighbors notice, which makes the lack of witnesses all the more striking.
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 Jessey Chavira could be found in news archives or public records. More than 11 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on or near Orangeglen Avenue in Citrus on the afternoon of August 5, 2014, or who knew Jessey Chavira and why he had come from Las Vegas, may hold information that could help investigators. 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.
