Roberto Amante was 27 years old when he died on Sunday, March 11, 2007, in East Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died of stab wounds at 4513 E. Dozier St. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case.
The Los Angeles Times Homicide Report described the case in a post published on March 14, 2007. It said that Amante, "a Latino man in his 20s, was killed, and a second man wounded, in a stabbing in the 4500 block of East Dozier Street in East Los Angeles around 10:50 p.m. Sunday, March 11." According to the report, "The second man fled the scene but later made it to a hospital, where he remained as of early this week."
The fact that a second man was stabbed in the same attack, and that he left before deputies arrived, suggests that at least one other person knew exactly what happened that night.
The report did not say whether the two men knew each other, whether they were attacked by one person or by a group, or whether the second man ever spoke with detectives. It did not describe a motive, a weapon or a suspect. No follow-up story about the case could be found, and no later statement from sheriff's homicide investigators appears in the public record.
Beyond those few lines, almost nothing about Roberto Amante has been made public. No obituary, memorial page or family fundraiser could be found for this story. His name is not common, but searches turn up other men called Roberto Amante, including a man whose obituary was published in Southern California in 2008 and people in Argentina, and none of them can be tied to this death. Relatives, coworkers and friends in East Los Angeles would know far more about who he was and how he spent his last evening than the brief record kept by the coroner.
East Los Angeles is a large unincorporated community just east of the city of Los Angeles and the neighborhood of Boyle Heights. Because it is not part of any city, it is policed by the Sheriff's Department from its East Los Angeles station. It is one of the most densely populated parts of the county, made up mostly of small homes and apartments on narrow residential streets, with busy commercial corridors such as Whittier Boulevard. East Los Angeles College and Belvedere Park are among its best-known landmarks. On a residential block like Dozier Street, neighbors often hear what happens outside late at night.
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 Roberto Amante could be found in news archives or public records. More than 18 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Roberto Amante, who was on or near East Dozier Street on the night of March 11, 2007, or who knows who the wounded second man was and what he saw, may hold information that could help detectives. 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 (8477).
