Murder Trial Starts Over Valley’s Only Fatality in Los Angeles Riots

VAN NUYS —  As violence erupted across Los Angeles following the acquittal of four police officers in the 1992 Rodney King beating trial, a North Hollywood man suffered head injuries that eventually would make him the only San Fernando Valley resident to die as a result of the riots.

His death was largely overlooked because it did not come until eight months later, when he was removed from life support. But Monday, on the first day of a first-degree murder trial for Traville John Craig, details of a nearly forgotten death emerged.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels said a group of African-American men confronted several Latino men outside a North Hollywood apartment complex and asked for donations to a fund to retry the officers who beat King.

Sympathetic to King, Victor Medina gave a small donation to the cause, but Craig wanted more and demanded the man’s wallet, Samuels said.

When he refused, Craig, now 20, chased Medina through the apartment complex, eventually striking him with a piece of lumber and then smashing Elias Garcia Rivera in the head as he came to Medina’s assistance.

Garcia, 32 when he died, suffered a fractured skull, but he did not realize the extent of his injuries until later in the evening, when he passed out. He had emergency surgery on April 30 of last year and was removed from life-support systems about eight months later, on Dec. 16.

The county coroner’s office ruled that Garcia was the 53rd person in Los Angeles County to die as a result of the riots. His death was the last attributed to the violence and arson fires that swept the city when the not-guilty verdicts were announced.

Although the San Fernando Valley experienced some fires and looting during the three days of chaos, the coroner reported Garcia as its only fatality.

The defense in the case against Craig acknowledges that news of the verdicts was everywhere but denies that Garcia died as a result of the civil unrest ignited by the verdicts.

Defense attorney Dale Galipo said he will seek to prove that the only connection between the incident and the riots was “a brief discussion about the Rodney King trial--which was on everyone’s mind at that time--and . . . an agreement that that decision did not seem fair.”

Medina did pay $2 toward some kind of defense fund and Craig was at the scene, Galipo said, but the violence started when someone else grabbed for Medina’s wallet. In addition, he maintained, Craig fought back in self-defense when Medina armed himself with a lawn chair and only struck Garcia with his hand, rather than a board.

Craig is also charged with attempted murder for striking Medina, who needed about 20 stitches to close a head wound.

Testifying as the first witness, Medina told a Van Nuys Superior Court jury Monday that he was sitting in front of his apartment building on Vanowen Street near Coldwater Canyon Boulevard when a group of six to eight young African-American men approached.

Through a Spanish interpreter, Medina said Craig and his friends said they were protesting what had happened to King. “For that reason they were collecting money and they asked me personally for $2.”

Craig said he was speaking for the “King cause,” Medina said, and Medina decided to hand over the money. But Medina turned down Craig’s request for more money.

As Medina walked into his apartment complex to get some beer for Craig and his friends, Craig grabbed the pocket where he kept his wallet, and Garcia responded by grabbing Craig’s hand, Medina testified.

Violence erupted when one of Craig’s friends struck Garcia in the face, Medina said. Medina ran into his building as his friends attempted to prevent Craig and his friends from entering the building. But Craig made it inside and chased Medina though his building, shouting obscenities as he demanded the wallet, Medina said.

The chase ended on a second-story balcony, where Medina was cornered as Craig rushed at him with a piece of splintered wood 2 1/2 feet long.

During his testimony, Medina left the witness stand and used a stick to demonstrate for the jury how Craig demanded money with his left hand while holding the board in his right. With one overhand swing, Craig landed the board squarely on his head, Medina testified.

Although bloodied, Medina never lost consciousness, he said. Almost immediately he heard Garcia--his friend and neighbor--running up nearby stairs toward him.

But Craig went to the stairs, Medina said, and used the board to smash Garcia in the skull before he arrived at the landing. Garcia collapsed and Craig fled the scene, he said.

In her opening argument, the prosecutor told the jury that Garcia did not immediately understand the extent of his injuries.

“Mr. Elias Garcia, not having the money, decided not to go to the hospital,” Samuels said. “Instead he went to his apartment . . . he felt quite ill, he started to bleed from the nose and ears. He went into his bathroom and passed out.”

Emergency surgery was performed at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, but Garcia fell into a coma. He died months later, when his family finally decided to allow doctors to disconnect the machines that were keeping him alive, Samuels said.