A 19-year-old USC student was in custody Wednesday for allegedly fatally stabbing a man he apparently witnessed breaking into cars on the university’s Greek Row.
Ivan Gallegos was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held in lieu of $2 million bail, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and jail records.
Xavier Cerf, 27, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to LAPD Officer Tony Im and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner’s office.
The stabbing was reported around 8:15 p.m. Monday in the 700 block of West 28th Street, east of University Avenue.
LAPD interim Chief Dominic Choi told the Police Commission Tuesday morning that Gallegos confronted Cerf, who was breaking into vehicles. Cerf allegedly told Gallegos he had a gun, resulting in the student stabbing him, Choi said.
Cerf tried to run away through an alley, where responding officers eventually found him suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to Choi. Several witnesses described seeing a pool of blood near a fraternity house.
According to the LAPD, two other men who were with Gallegos when he confronted Cerf were questioned and released at the scene.
The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office for filing consideration, police said.