Anthony Rivas, 32, was fatally shot on May 31, 2023, during an attempted robbery at an illegal casino in the 3300 block of Cahuenga Boulevard near Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Around 3:40 a.m., two masked men armed with rifles entered through a back entrance; when Rivas, a security guard, encountered them he tried to draw his handgun and was shot multiple times. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene. The assailants searched the premises but fled without money.

On June 7, 2023, four people were arrested in connection with the case: Matthew Scott Riley, 29, of Panorama; Rudy Javier Madrid, 26, of North Hollywood; Michael John Blankenship, 52, of Oxnard; and Steven Hans Dunkel, 23, of Glendora. Riley and Madrid were charged with murder; Blankenship and Dunkel faced conspiracy to commit robbery charges. Investigators say Dunkel was a former dealer at the casino and likely the getaway driver, and Blankenship served as a decoy. The group is suspected in other armed robberies of underground casinos.

Rivas was remembered by family and friends as a dedicated father and hardworking provider. He is survived by his fiancée, Crystal Najar, a 3-year-old daughter, Zoe, and an 18-month-old son, AJ. Anyone with information about the shooting or related robberies is asked to come forward.