The University of Southern California student accused of fatally stabbing a man he allegedly saw trying to break into a car will not face criminal charges, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
USC student Ivan Gallegos and two friends were walking down 28th Street in the heart of Greek Row when they came across Xavier Cerf. Ivan Gallegos, 19, and two other people approached the man in the 700 block of West 28th Street around 8:15 p.m. Monday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The victim, identified by police as 27-year-old Xavier Cerf, was not breathing when officers arrived. Cerf was believed to be homeless, police said.
Police Statement
Gallegos stabbed Cerf multiple times and remained at the scene before being detained by officers, police said. He was initially held on $2 million bail. Police said the two people with Gallegos were questioned and later released.
On Thursday, the DA’s office said it would not be pursuing charges against Gallegos. “After careful consideration and a thorough review of all available evidence, we have decided not to pursue charges against USC student Ivan Gallegos,” DA’s office spokeswoman Venusse D. Dunn wrote in a statement.
“We believe that Mr. Gallegos’s actions were driven by a genuine fear for his life and the lives of others,” Dunn wrote. “Our heart goes out to the deceased’s family, friends and everyone impacted by this tragic incident.”
USC has said Gallegos was a student at the Marshall School of Business.
A student ‘loved’ at USC
Earlier this year, Gallegos took to his LinkedIn page to share an excerpt of an essay he wrote for the USC Dornsife Prison Education Project. “I will dedicate my life to start a movement to inspire people struggling with criminality to seek a better life for themselves because a life living locked up, is not a life worth living for,” he wrote. The piece was awarded an honorable mention.
Gallegos has also been featured in campus media for his work as a musician producing electronic dance music.
