{"id":16165,"date":"2026-06-18T23:01:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T23:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=16165"},"modified":"2026-06-18T23:01:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T23:01:48","slug":"family-of-man-fatally-stabbed-while-charging-ev-in-downey-civic-center-sues-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=16165","title":{"rendered":"Family of man fatally stabbed while charging EV in Downey Civic Center sues city"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The family of a man fatally stabbed while charging his electric car in the Downey Civic Center parking lot is suing the city, alleging officials long knew the area was unsafe but failed to improve security.<\/p>\n

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Reinaldo Jesus Lefonts, 68, of Downey was charging his Tesla at an EV station in front of the city library on the morning of Sept. 13, 2025, when he was fatally stabbed allegedly by Giovanni Navarro, a homeless man with a long criminal history who had been arrested less than 24 hours before the stabbing for trespassing on Civic Center property.<\/p>\n

According to the lawsuit, filed on June 12 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the parking lot where Lefonts was killed had a long and well-documented history of criminal activity, including the Nov. 18, 2015, as he sat in his personal vehicle in the police station parking lot. The station is located about 200 feet from where Lefonts was killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe City of Downey held a funeral for a man murdered in this specific parking lot,\u201d the lawsuit said.<\/p>\n

From Jan. 1, 2022, to Sept. 12, 2025, city records confirm no fewer than 675 calls for police service to the Civic Center for assaults, robberies, sex crimes, arson, larceny, narcotics offenses, criminal threats, domestic violence, missing persons, and other serious public safety matters, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

The suit, alleging negligence and wrongful death, names as defendants Police Chief Scott Loughner, Public Works Director Matthew Baumgardner, City Manager Roger Bradley and Fire Chief Anthony Hildebrand. The family is seeking $40 million in damages, said their attorney, Alexis Galindo.<\/p>\n

Interrupted car burglary<\/h4>\n

Lefonts, a lab technician at UCI Medical Center who according to Galindo had retired just three months before his death, routinely charged his vehicle at the Civic Center. On the morning he was killed, he plugged his Tesla into the EV station in front of the library and walked home, leaving his vehicle to charge. The lawsuit said\u00a0he believed it was safe because there were security cameras and the area was close to the police station.<\/p>\n

When Lefonts received an electronic vehicle break-in alert on his phone, he hopped on his motorcycle and returned to the Civic Center. There, he found Navarro inside his vehicle, burglarizing it. When he confronted Navarro, the car burglar stabbed him with a knife five times in the head, neck and forearm, the lawsuit alleged.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis criminal activity occurred in broad daylight, in front of the Downey Pubic Library, at a location posted as being under 24-hour surveillance, physically adjacent to the Police Department,\u201d said the lawsuit, which alleged Navarro had been \u201cconducting a sustained, multi-vehicle break-in spree\u201d throughout the parking lot at the time of his encounter with Lefonts.<\/p>\n

While responding paramedics were treating Lefonts outside the library, another homeless man \u2014 identified in the lawsuit as Nicholas DeMarco, who also had a documented criminal history \u2014 allegedly stole their ambulance. The lawsuit alleges the vehicle lacked an anti-theft system, installed in many police and emergency response vehicles, that locks the gear shifter when a vehicle is left running.<\/p>\n

Lefonts died at the scene as a result, about 20 minutes after the attack, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

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DeMarco, 52, led police on a high-speed chase to Alhambra, where he crashed the vehicle and was arrested, Galindo said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Navarro, who the lawsuit claims has two prior convictions for grand theft and attempted burglary and multiple arrests, has been charged with murder with the special allegation of using a deadly weapon in connection with Lefonts\u2019 death. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 13 in Los Angeles Superior Court in Norwalk, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Prior to his retirement, Lefonts, a Downey resident of 30 years and devoted husband, father of two sons and grandfather, had worked in a laboratory at UCI Medical Center, where he tested medications, collected blood samples and mentored young physicians in diagnostic medicine. He spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic helping ensure patients received vaccines and medications, Galindo said.<\/p>\n

Lefonts enjoyed motorcycle riding and scuba diving, and, in retirement, was training to hike Mount Whitney with his son, Michael, Galindo said.<\/p>\n

Prior concerns<\/h4>\n

For nearly a decade, city officials had been grappling with ways to address homelessness and crime at and near the Civic Center \u2014 up until the time of Lefonts\u2019 death, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

On Aug. 26, 2025, the City Council publicly discussed safety concerns at and around city facilities after receiving a report on homelessness.<\/p>\n

And while the city posted signs in the Civic Center parking lot that read \u201cArea Under 24 Hour Surveillance,\u201d it was false information, as the security cameras were motion-activated and \u201cvehicle-triggered\u201d only, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

In May 2025, four months before Lefonts was killed, Baumgardner, the public works director, proposed increasing the number of EV charging stations in the city as a revenue generator, specifically identifying the public library as an ideal location due to its \u201ccentral position, high daily usage, 24-hour access, strong lighting, and proximity to the Police Department and security cameras,\u201d according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

The City Council unanimously approved Baumgardner\u2019s proposal. No council member asked about the adequacy of the security cameras or referenced the documented crime history at the location, the lawsuit claims.<\/p>\n

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City officials did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lawsuit claims city officials failed to properly address rampant crime in an area where both the library and police station were located.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16164,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFamily of man fatally stabbed while charging EV in Downey Civic Center sues city - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=16165\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Family of man fatally stabbed while charging EV in Downey Civic Center sues city - 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