Otis Hightower, a 55-year-old black man, was fatally stabbed on Wednesday, July 3, near West 54th Street and 4th Avenue in Hyde Park, according to L.A. County coroner’s records.
Hightower was standing outside a liquor store about 6:15 p.m. when a man approached, LAPD Det. Sal LaBarbera said.
The two got into a heated dispute, and the man to pulled out a knife and stabbed Hightower, police said. Investigators also said that the man reached into Hightower’s pocket, took money, then fled on foot.
Hightower died at the scene at 6:30 p.m.
Darwin Stephen Martinez, 21, was arrested July 5 and was booked on suspicion of murder. He is being held in lieu of $1-million bail, according to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department records.
-- Nicole Santa Cruz