A University of Southern California student arrested on June 17 in connection to the fatal stabbing of a homeless man will not face charges, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.
Ivan Gallegos was arrested on suspicion of murder in the June 17 stabbing death of Xavier Cerf, 27.
Cerf was captured on the fraternity’s security camera at about 8:00 p.m. breaking into a vehicle in the fraternity’s parking lot.
Gallegos and two other residents of the fraternity heard a car alarm going off in the parking lot and went outside to investigate, with Cerf carrying a knife and one of the other men carrying a large wooden stick.
By the time they got to the parking lot, Cerf was inside a vehicle belonging to Gallegos’ roommate. One of the men called 911 to report the crime and remained on the phone with the dispatcher during the incident.
Meanwhile, the other two approached the vehicle and ordered Cerf to get out. When he got out of the car, Cerf told them that he was armed and started to reach toward his waist as if going for a gun, the witnesses told responding officers.
Gallegos then grabbed Cerf’s hands to stop him from pulling out the alleged weapon. In the struggle that followed, Gallegos stabbed Cerf four times.
Cerf walked away from the vehicle and the three men went inside to wait for the police who responded to the scene at about 8:15 p.m.
Cerf was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other two men were questioned and released while Gallegos, who insisted that he acted in self-defense, was placed under arrest and booked into jail on a $2 million bond.
However, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office declined to bring charges against Gallegos.
In a June 20 press release, LA County District Attorney George Gascón explained that in reviewing the incident, his office determined that Gallagos’ actions “were driven by a genuine fear for his life and the lives of others.”
