Leonardo Ponce was killed on July 25, 1998, in East Los Angeles. His death occurred during the same violent incident that also claimed Josue Hernandez; both men were described as rival gang members and the killings were suspected to be retaliatory for an earlier attack on an associate. At the time of the killings there were no immediate arrests or identified suspects and the case remained unsolved for many years.

Later investigative developments implicated Jose Joe Luis Saenz as connected to the murders, but the jury deadlocked on the charges related to Ponce and Hernandez and the district attorney did not pursue a retrial. The murder of Leonardo Ponce remains an unsolved, gang-related killing from 1998.

If anyone knew Leonardo, Josue, or the circumstances in East Los Angeles that night, any information could help clarify what happened.