A University of Southern California student who killed a homeless man during a confrontation over a robbery along the campus’s Greek Row will not be charged in the stabbing, authorities have confirmed.
Police said suspect Ivan Gallegos, 19, of Los Angeles, was taken into custody early Tuesday on suspicion of murder and was being held on $2 million bail following Monday night’s attack.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charges against the business student because it found he acted in self-defense and reasonably believed the victim, Xavier Self, 27, had a gun.
“We believe Mr. Gallegos’ actions were motivated by genuine fear for his own life and the life of others,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement Thursday.
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He was later released from prison KTLA reported.
Authorities said Cerf, who is homeless, was seen on security camera footage getting into a 2010 Mercedes-Benz that was parked near the rear of the student housing complex where Gallegos lives, according to a charging evaluation document released by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Shortly after the car alarm went off, Gallegos grabbed a knife and went outside with two other people, one of whom was carrying a large wooden stick, to investigate.
Upon approaching a vehicle owned by one of his friends, the man refused to get out of the vehicle, locked the doors and claimed the car was “calling him” and “knew his name,” according to the documents. NBC reports.
A few minutes later, the man opened the driver’s door and appeared to get out, then reached for his waistband, telling Gallegos he had a gun, two witnesses told investigators.
Authorities said Gallegos then grabbed both of the man’s hands with his left hand and stabbed him in the chest with a knife he was holding in his right hand.
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Cerf died at the scene, an alley behind USC’s Greek Row.
A struggle ensued and Mr Cerf was stabbed three more times, prosecutors said.
Authorities said Gallegos, a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, remained at the scene and was arrested.
The boy claimed he acted in self-defense and that Cerf had a gun, but police said no gun was found.
Gallegos, who just completed his second year of college, is a top student pursuing a degree in business administration at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business.
He was profiled by USC’s Annenberg Media last month and spoke about his passion for music and the tough upbringing he had in East Los Angeles that inspired him to strive to become a first-generation Latino college student.
“Throughout his childhood, Ivan navigated the realities of both his parents’ involvement in gang activity and intermittent incarceration.” That’s what the report said.
“Despite growing up in an environment rife with drugs, gangs and prostitution, he focused on music and honed his skills to become a versatile instrumentalist and vocalist.”
The victim’s mother Yemma Jones told NBC. He was a dancer and comedian who had moved to Los Angeles from Texas. He had recently been hospitalized for 20 days with an unexplained mental illness and had only been released on the day of his death. “I’m lost. I’m confused. I’m hurt,” she said.
“You took my son. You took my baby. You took my baby.”
