(L.A.) Xavier Cerf, 27, Died From Four Stab Wounds

Case Number: 2024-09729

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 27-year-old Black male that occurred in an alley.

The coroner’s office has identified the man as Xavier Cerf.

Height: 5 feet 8 inches / Weight: 170 pounds

Manner of Death: Homicide

Cause of Death: Stab Wounds of Chest

RIP XAVIER JERROD CERF (October 26, 1996 – June 17, 2024)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Monday at 8:46 p.m.

GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/help-bring-xavier-cerf-home

The decedent was allegedly breaking into cars on Fraternity Row when a USC student named Ivan Gallegos knifed him four times. Gallegos was booked for murder with bond set at $2 million based on the standard bail schedule. On Thursday, the district attorney’s office announced it would not be filing charges and he was released.

Here is the narrative that family and friends of Ivan Gallegos have put out.

Ivan Gallegos, a dedicated and involved student at USC, found himself in a precarious situation due to the lack of safety measures around his campus. After hearing a car alarm, Ivan and two friends went to investigate and discovered a man inside his friend’s car. When they approached and asked the man to leave, he claimed the car as his own and said he had a gun. Feeling their lives were in danger, Ivan and his friends continued to demand the intruder leave the vehicle and the premises. Despite their repeated requests, man refused to exit the car and again claimed to have a firearm. The situation escalated when the intruder began reaching for his waist, prompting Ivan to act in self-defense. Ivan stabbed the intruder, who then fled the scene and later died to his injuries next door. Ivan is now being held at the Southwest Police Station with a bail set at $2 million.

* No gun was found at the scene.

Ivan Gallegos Go Fund Me

Note that there were two attempts made by friends/family of Ivan Gallegos to raise bail funds on GoFundMe. The first online fundraiser was taken down, as was the subsequent attempt a day later. Raising funds for an arrestee goes against GoFundMe’s TOS.

GFM’s statement: “GoFundMe cannot be used to benefit those who are charged with serious violations of the law… Specifically, ‘campaigns in defense of formal charges or claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts’ are not permitted on GoFundMe.

Murder has no statute of limitations in California. The lack of a time limit allows law enforcement to pursue old casess even decades after the crime occurred.

A future prosecutor may decide to reopen this case and bring charges.