Juan Manuel Jacinto Cortes, a 52-year-old Latino man, was shot and killed on the evening of February 3, 2021, near 2413 W. 54th St. in Los Angeles’ Hyde Park neighborhood. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner recorded the death as a homicide; Cortes was struck multiple times and died at the scene.

Investigators initially struggled with few eyewitnesses and limited physical evidence, and community reluctance to come forward was reported as a barrier. Detectives explored possible links to a rise in gang-related violence in the area. Months into the inquiry, a witness provided information that led police to identify a suspect who was later arrested on a first-degree murder charge and prosecuted.

Few public details about motive or the evidence presented at trial have been released in these reports. Does anyone in the Hyde Park area remember unusual activity or have information about that night in February 2021 that could help clarify what happened to Juan Manuel Jacinto Cortes?