(L.A.) Elliot Haas, 57, Died in a Vehicle
Case Number: 2022-02880
Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 57-year-old Caucasian male that occurred in a vehicle.
The coroner’s office has identified the man as Elliot Haas.
Manner of Death: Accident
Cause of Death: Effects of Fentanyl
RIP ELLIOT HAAS (June 16, 1964 – March 11, 2022)
Formal pronouncement of death was made on Friday at 10:20 a.m.
Incident Location:
E. Kensington Road & Boston Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026
The government investigator noted that the decedent was transient. In a recent legal case, he was described as unhoused.
Note that in media reports covering the case below, Haas was described as living in a tent in the area of Glendale Boulevard and did not appear to have the means to own a vehicle.
https://casetext.com/case/haas-v-rescue
Elliot Haas, an unhoused individual living on the streets of Los Angeles, sued Brittney Littleton and Little Love Rescue for trespass to chattels, conversion, receipt of stolen property in violation of Penal Code section 496, subdivision (a), violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL) (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) and intentional infliction of emotional distress, alleging Littleton and Little Love Rescue stole his dog Luna and thereafter on various social media platforms misrepresented Luna’s health and living conditions to raise money. Littleton and Little Love Rescue filed a special motion to strike the complaint pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16. The trial court denied the motion, ruling Haas’s causes of action did not arise from protected speech or petitioning activity within the meaning of section 425.16, subdivision (e).
In a complaint filed May 29, 2020, Haas alleged he had been given Luna (a pit bull) in 2013 and she lived with him in his tent on the streets until January 2020. Luna suffered a seizure in 2019 that left her hind legs paralyzed.
According to Haas’s complaint, a man and a woman approached Haas on January 24, 2020, and offered him a table. After helping him set it up, the woman took Luna without Haas’s permission and put the dog in the couple’s car. When Haas asked for Luna’s return, the individuals said she looked sick and they wanted to take her to a veterinarian. They said they would return Luna to Hass after she had been evaluated. The couple then drove off with the dog.
Haas reported the incident to the police, who, after some investigation, told Haas the individuals who took Luna were friends of Littleton, the owner of Little Love Rescue. Immediately after Luna was taken from Haas, Little Love Rescue posted on social media (Instagram) and began a fundraising campaign to “Save Luna-the Paralyzed Street Dog.” Haas alleged the social media posts fabricated claims that Luna had been mistreated.
B308898
ELLIOT HAAS, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. LITTLE LOVE RESCUE et al., Defendants and Appellants