Los Angeles County coroner's officials routinely provide The Times with a weekly list of deaths initially considered to be homicides.
Reporters follow up with the department to obtain additional information about each case and, in some cases, learn that the victim's cause of death has been deferred. This means the final determination on the mode of death is postponed pending additional laboratory tests. The death can later be ruled natural, a homicide, a suicide or an accident. The results usually are available within six to eight weeks.
The Homicide Report has followed up with the coroner's office on some of the deferred cases. Here are the findings in several cases from 2010, 2011 and 2012:
Joe Ward, a 67-year-old black man, died Dec. 22, 2010, after he was found in his home in Lynwood. Ward had signs of decubitus, or bed sores, all over his body, according to …
Almicar Parra, a 26-year-old Latino, was shot and fatally wounded on Tuesday, Jan. 22, near a Pico-Union taco stand, according to authorities.
LAPD officers were called to the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Alvarado Street about 10:30 a.m., Officer Bruce Borihahn of the Los Angeles Police Department said. When they arrived, they found a man with a gunshot to the head who was "unconscious and not breathing."
Witnesses told police that three men in a white, late-model Cadillac pulled up near the sidewalk, and one of them opened fire, striking the victim, who was not immediately identified, Borihahn said.
The shooter had a shaved head, was wearing a white T-shirt and had a thin build, Borihahn said. The shooting is believed to be gang-related, but he did not elaborate.
The Cadillac was last seen on Pico Boulevard, heading toward Bonnie Brae Street.
-- Andrew Blankstein
Deon Montrell Hale, a 42-year-old black male, died Monday, Jan. 21, after being shot in Long Beach, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Eleaquin Temblador, a 18-year-old white male, died Monday, Jan. 21, after being shot in Wilmington, according to Los Angeles County coroner's records.
Devin Joseph Scandore, a 22-year-old white man, was shot to death during a brawl at a punk rock concert at the Alpine Village Center in unincorporated West Carson on Jan. 20, according to authorities.
The fight initially broke out inside the German-themed venue and spilled into a parking lot about 12:25 a.m. Sunday, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials.
Scandore was shot, and he died of his injuries at a hospital, authorities said.
A second man was stabbed, a sheriff's statement said, and he was reported in stable condition at a hospital the day of the assault.
Investigators described the altercation as a "big fight" and said they were looking for two suspects in what were believed to be separate incidents. No suspect descriptions were immediately available, other than that both were believed to be men.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the incidents to …