Mitchell Maya, 20

By Nicole Santa Cruz

Dec. 15, 2015

Mitchell Maya, a 20-year-old Latino, died Wednesday, Dec. 9, after he was shot in the 700 block of North Breed Street in Boyle Heights, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s records.

About 8 p.m. on Dec. 8, Maya had just walked out of his home to run errands when residents in the area reported hearing gunshots, said LAPD Det. Jose Ramirez.

Maya was struck by gunfire and ran about 300 feet, to the 700 block of Cornwell Street, where he was found.

Maya was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:10 a.m. on Dec. 9. The motive for the shooting remains under investigation.

Anyone with information can call Hollenbeck Division detectives at (323) 342-8964. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.

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14 reader comments

This happened 5 years ago very close to where I was living at the time and it haunts me to this day because this young man did not deserve nor ask for this to happen to him. He was not in gangs, was not a thug or delinquent, he was not confrontational or caused problems with anyone, he was on a road to success, was ambitious, and everything appeared to be going smoothly for him. Out of the blue, he is shot to death in front of his home.

The same thing happened to me but I was lucky and was not hit. I will never know if the shooter in my case simply had bad aim or decided to scare me and not kill me. The bullet holes in my car were so close to me, something tells me I wasn't meant to survive but luckily walked away unscathed.

Years have passed and I read this homicide report every few months and am HORRIFIED by the sheer number of young men, the overwhelming majority being black or Hispanic, who are gunned down at random in this city. Why is this allowed to continue? Why isn't it treated like a major crisis or an string of tragedies that MUST BE STOPPED. It's as if the police think it's business as usual and allow it to be. Why aren't gangs made illegal? Why are they allowed to terrorize and murder innocent civilians in this city?

I've left Boyle Heights and live in a much safer part of town but family still lives there and I fear for their safety. To the poster who wrote about how the police are protecting informants, sending many young men to jail for life, and are in cahoots with corps and businesses to cleanse Boyle Heights of thugs so that law-abiding citizens could move in and make it into a middle class neighborhood....why do you speak as if that is a bad thing? So you want a neighborhood with thugs killing the innocent and law abiding residents for NO REASON WHATSOEVER?

I say the LAPD using dirty tactics to CLEANSE Boyle Heights of scum is something that needs to be CELEBRATED not resisted! Gangs are the cause of the deaths of so many young men who are on the right path in life. If gangs are really big macho men why don't they use their fists instead of pressing a button on a shiny tool that they can use at a distance before scrambling away like the cowards they are? How is that brave or honorable or worthy of respect? That's a sissy if I ever saw one. And they target innocent people who have done no harm to them and would likely take the shirt off their backs if one of those thugs were freezing out on the street. Those kinds of people need to be taken out of Boyle Heights. If the bulk of those happen to be Hispanic, well I'm sure law-abiding Hispanics would be among those who replace them. We do exist you know? It's not just white people who are of middle class and uphold the law. Don't be ridiculous.

RIP Mitchell. Your story deeply moved me and continues to to this day. Boyle Heights deserves better and you were one of the many there who we were proud of.

I didn't know you but will never forget you.

— Allura April 17, 2020 at 6:03 a.m.

The truth is the cops are too busy guarding criminal informants in this area who are setting up many young men to go to jail for life. The fact is that Boyle Heights is going through a gratification process and all gang members are being killed or sent to jail for life. As many low income residents of this community may like these dirty tactics by the Police, they don't realize that they will soon be pushed out of this neighborhood as rent and home prices increase significantly to the point they will be forced to leave. The middle upper class will move in, which is mainly White people. Billions of dollars are being spent in Boyle Heights by corporations and private investors to make it a upper middle class community. Hence, police and politicians are under pressure to clean up the area at all cost. Gang members are being set up for failure or killed instead of educating them to choose the correct path. Sad but true. Open up your eyes Raza. Golden Boy productions, Oscar de la Hoya, is a big player along with Jose Huizar, Boyle Heights representative.

— Resident Aug. 16, 2016 at 11:55 p.m.

It's a shame, how crime is now a days. A very young Man is killed, and nobody saw nor heard anything. How is this even possible.,? We are all to blame. Instead of helping the community we are destroying each others life by keeping silent to such cruel acts of violence. The killers are out there at large, the neighbors are blindedly shut closed to exposure of indecent acts... A baby is left behind, A young Lady is overall missing the love of her life.. The Parents are mourning his death...and NOBODY WANTS TO HELP AND PUT AN END TO VIOLENCE. SADLY....BUT THIS WILL KEEP REPEATING UNTIL SOME ONE SPEAKS UP. WHAT HAPPENED TO NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH PROGRAMS. WE ARE ALL HUMANS.... ONE BLOOD. LET'S STICK TOGETHER AND HELP EACH OTHER OUT.
MAY YOU REST IN PEACE MITCH.
GOD BLESS US ALL.
JANET💕

— Janet Jan. 8, 2016 at 2:06 p.m.