Man Found Beaten To Death In Downtown LA Apartment

April 15, 2011 12:44 PM

(credit: CBS)

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Apartment, Beaten, body, Downtown, Los Angeles, Man, wall street

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A man was found beaten to death Friday in an apartment in downtown Los Angeles, authorities said.

The man, who may have been dead for up to a week, was found at 7 a.m. in the 600 block of Wall Street, authorities said.

The victim’s name was withheld pending notification of his relatives, according to Craig Harvey of the coroner’s office.

The man suffered “blunt force trauma” and had likely been dead for three to seven days, he said.

Neighbors smelled a foul odor and notified authorities.

Man Found Beaten To Death In Downtown LA Apartment

Ray

Thanks Julie
JG

Wow Julie “Sherlock Holmes” Asperger cold case cracked…
Dave

Did he have a Giants jersey on?
John Q.

So Julie, according to you everybody on Skid Row does drugs. According to you guess they are all useless even though at one time they had good jobs but lost them when the economy went soft.

Words of Wisdom, by Julie.
PL

I agree with Julie
Victim could have been beaten and robbed
to feed perps drug habit
comic_guy

Julie,

Why the heck aren’t you a Homicide Detective and solve EVERY cold case for the police department? I’m sure your experience and training from watching CSI, Law & Order, and Reno 911 will certainly strike fear in all serial killers out there.

Den

You watch too much CSI
TV is fake
So us wrestling

Cin

Right…how do you know it is drug related? What if this guy was homeless? What good does it do to kill him if you want drugs? What if someone killed him somewhere else…like in Beverly Hills and then brought the body to Skid Row?
What if it’s a serial killer or someone that just wanted to beat this guy up? Maybe it was you and that’s why you know it’s drug related?????

Dave

The victim was an old white veteran, not homeless, dead in his own room here on LA’s skid row, several miles from Beverly Hills. He (Raymond) would play pinocle outside and was last known alive on Sunday but his neighbors never heard a sound this week. Local people are killed for money to by crack and there’s rumors about a check for $1500. Doesn’t happen often but does reoccur, a matter of time until it happens again. We had just had a tenants meeting where we complained about Volunteers of America disabling our security cameras from recording, to catch the vandalism here at Ballington Plaza. Hard to change things when no one listens.

Luis

Finally, perhaps someone who knows some facts…and isn’t quick to generalize or offer naive opinions. Thanks…maybe…
Kay

Dave..Did you know Raymond??? Please answer me.
Sherry Kay Sweet

THANK YOU KATIE & DAVE….MY BROTHER DID NOT DESERVE TO DIE THIS WAY..GLAD HE HAD FRIENDS LIKE YOU OUT THERE WITH HIM.GOD BLESS YOU BOTH !!!!!!!!!

UncleRuckus

Maybe he was a Giants fan as well. Maybe the LAPD will over react and have a full force of cops patrolling the streets. Maybe the liquor stores will not sell liquor because that leads to
Violence. Anything to ensure public safety Oh wait that only happens at Chavez Ravine.

Edwin Butler

could have been a hooher boy from rent boy that got him ??

Alexander

Volunteers of America Ballington Plaza is poorly managed. They allow small children to visit a high-risk pedophile, a high-risk pedophile that are known to rape kids. The assistant manager is always begging for food or money from the clients and deals in illegal drugs. The assistant manager also has sex with a client in the LAMP program also. Apartments are constantly being broken into by staff. The night security rover is always asleep and the security lady is always asleep at the desk at night

Jenny Dorsey

Alexander, isnt it up to the parents to allow their children to visit pedophiles? Im not sure I follow what you mean. The rest of it sounds liek its horribly managed & needs a complete wipe-out & replacement of management & personel, maybe even a new building owner. I am so sorry to hear about this Veteran being murdered. its not right for our soldiers to survive war only to loose their lives here at the hands of other Americans. The same thing happened to my uncle. Its not right for anyone to loose their lives to cowardly murderers. If they are big enough to kill, they should be big enough to step forward & claim responsibilty. But these days, noone is expected to to take responsibility for their actions, including parents that let their kid visit pedophiles.

Richard

This isn’t true. I stayed here a few years ago today as a US VETERAN. Every staff member is friendly, outgoing and very good on the job. The residence is great. I just seen one of the workers a few months ago at my job and he was as nice as ever. This incident looks bad on paper because a murder is unheard of with on-site property security. But violent incidents do happen. I’m sad a fellow US VETERAN had his life taken, my heart goes out to his family and friends.
U.S Army Vet

@Richard. Unfortunately the comment section here is turning out to be about voa’s ballington property and lack of professional staff there. I couldnt help but to respond to your post. Either you work for voa and are trying to post an incorrect image of them or your a humble person that was lucky enough to have a positive experience within the program. Dont get me wrong sir, there are some good people that work here, not very many of them, but they are here. Unfortunately those good people are not management , this goes for most of the security staff as well. The main manager for the apartments is a professional, courteous gentleman. As for the asst. manager, BIG mistake having her there. I agree w/Alexander. As far as pedophiles, enter the address here on meganslaw and add em’ up. Im sorry to Raymond’s family for all the idiotic babble that is’t related to Raymonds death. This goes for my response to Richard as well. God bless you.

William

I have known Raymond since february 2007. Never have I heard Raymond utter a negative word (except when he had an itch he couldn’t reach). Other than that, he was the most positive, kind hearted, easygoing, U.S Army Veteran that I have known. If downtown Los Angeles had more people like him…..this area would be a much more pleasant place to live. I find this post that I’m writing to be difficult to complete. I write this in between tears and thoughts of my friend…Raymond. I hadn’t realized how much I cared for Raymond until his passing. I found this quote by an unknown author and leave it for Raymonds family and friends in hopes that it will help ease our pain…………….
“Although it’s difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,
May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow”.

-William- Disabled U.S Army Veteran

Sherry Kay Sweet

Thank You William..His family appreciates your kind words !!! We are trying to get him home.Hopfully we can do that soon.Was very glad he had a friend like you.God Bless You.

El CId

The Volunteers of America VOA is definately culpable in their misuse of public grants and donations being that the Veterans that live there under the V.A. transitional Housing Program and the regular SRO-room residence apartments are indeed mismanaged and employees of the VOA steal resources including medications
that are held on clients’ behalf.

Raymond was peaceful and any comments about drugs should indicate the trafficing and use by VOA employees and the deliberate LACK of security at this location.

We lived there and experienced this. We reported this and we see that certain parties continue to erase our statements.

There is always a void where those who protected Ray and others
have left. When we were there we stood in Harm’s way.

Brother, I am sorry I wasnt there to protect you.

Katie posted a disdain for working with Veterans on Skid Row on Facebook.
Katie like most of the VOA employees has a drug abuse history.

We do Not.

anonymous

Mosty govt programs result in large sums of money going to people who get rich from these programs and very little of it goes to the intended recipients. The L A Times should write about these groups that pocket taxpayer money under the ruse of helping people.

Icannotbekilled

US army vet…you obviously need have any real training…the Posts include facts about VOA negligence and crimes because it is CLEARLY Related.

Dont disparage DECORATED and HONORABLE Veterans .

Raymond and others before him have suffered a most grievous harm because of the Volunteers of America (which btw doesnt seem to have any Volunteers.

When I first encountered this this area of social concern I observed that people on the street needing help and the staff of these ‘shelters’ seem to just ‘go-along-with’ certain barbaric practices which is a root symptom of the abuse.

They house the most disgusting criminals along with some very learned and experienced military clients who; by reason of medical need or other human
shortfall, are assigned there by the VA without proper staff or secure facilities.

A men were raped by a convict more than once.
KAtie Hanlon and Her vs65 staff are constantly stealing food and money from the seniors and have been implicated in drug and prostitution complaints.

The Ballington plaza, as it is called is located right next to the portion of San Julian street directly adjacent to the most horrendous crack/drug infested spot on Skid Row.

You would think that an organization named for right and proper support of the needy would have more to do with caring for people rather than hastening their death and threatening the Defenders of America. Shame on VOA, again, and shame on any coward claiming to be a veteran who wants to hide and be a slave at the VOA.

I always told my fellow Veterans: ” DO good things and remember that you did them and every man has a right to a place to sleep and not to be messed with”

HUA?
Dave (2nd)

Katie is truly different from the Volunteers of America over the decades I’ve known them, she does good work with the best intent. The name Vounteers of America dates over a century and is readily explained by searching the internet. To Kay, I don’t know the prior Dave who commented here but I did, at 4:45 pm on April 15th. I didn’t much know Raymond other than another person who had one of the 270 rooms here but he was a nice guy and I’m sure he did nothing to provoke any harm towards anyone, a harm far too familiar to us on skid row and at this precise street address. The police are working steadily on this case so I think it will receive the justice that it cries out for. To Raymond’s family and friends I humbly offer my condolences and an old poem:

When you’re lonely
I wish you love.
When you’re down
I wish you joy
When you’re troubled
I wish you peace
When things are complicated
I wish you simple beauty
When things look empty
I wish you hope.
Fed Up

When I first moved into Ballington Plaza eight years ago, I was naive enough to think that a so-called charitable organization such as Volunteers of America actually cared about their residents and had their best interests at heart. Big mistake. VOA corporate treats Ballington Plaza like a cash cow and milks it for all its worth, continually raising rents while offering as few services as possible. My rent has nearly doubled in eight years, and my once-free parking space now costs $65/month. What do we get in return? Air conditioning which no longer works, walls in the common areas which haven’t been painted since 1995, filthy carpeting, roaches, bed bugs, a manager who can’t be trusted any further than you can throw him, and sex offenders for neighbors. Kind hearted people who fund VOA should find a better place for their contributions.

bresident

That’s because the manager was busy receiving blow jobs in his office from the same LAMP prostitute as the other manager. It’s not a lie. Corporate knows it’s true but they don’t care.