| Sleepy Lagoon murder | |
|---|---|
 Defendants in the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial are reunited with family following their acquittal. | |
| Location | 5400 Lindbergh Lane Bell, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 33°59′44.1″N 118°10′22.7″W / 33.995583°N 118.172972°W |
| Date | August 2, 1942 |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Victims | José Gallardo Díaz |
| Accused | Jack Melendez Victor Thompson Angel Padilla John Y. Matuz Ysmael Parra (Smiles) Victor Segobia Henry Leyvas Gus Zamora Manuel Reyes Robert Telles Manuel Delgado Jose Ruiz (Chepe) Henry Ynostroza |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| History of Chicanos and Mexican Americans |
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The Sleepy Lagoon murder refers to the 1942 death of José Gallardo Díaz, a young Mexican-American man found dying near a reservoir in Commerce, California, on August 2, 1942. The name Sleepy Lagoon murder was used by the Los Angeles newspapers to describe it. The case became a flashpoint for racial tension and injustice in Los Angeles.
Sleepy Lagoon was a reservoir beside the Los Angeles River, located in the city of Maywood - approximately what is now 5400 Lindbergh Lane in Bell,[1] though some sources cite the location as 5500 Slauson Avenue.[2]Popular among Mexican-Americans in the early 1940s, the reservoir got its name from the popular song "Sleepy Lagoon" recorded in 1942 by big band leader and trumpeter Harry James.[3]
On the night of the incident, Díaz was attending a party hosted for Eleanor Delgadillo Coronado. After the party, Díaz left with two friends, Luis "Cito" Vargas and Andrew Torres. Shortly after, he was confronted by a group of young men from the 38th Street neighborhood, who came to the party seeking revenge for an earlier beating of some of their friends.[4]
Díaz was later found gravely injured and transported by ambulance to Los Angeles County General Hospital. He died shortly afterwards without regaining consciousness. The hospital's autopsy showed that he was inebriated from the party and suffered a fracture at the base of his skull, possibly caused by repeated falls or an automobile accident. The exact cause of Díaz's death remains a subject of dispute.However, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was quick to arrest seventeen Mexican-American youths – Jack Melendez, Victor Thompson, Angel Padilla, John Y. Matuz, Ysmael Parra (Smiles), Henry Leyvas, Gus Zamora, Manuel Reyes, Robert Telles, Manuel Delgado, Jose Ruiz (Chepe), Victor Segobia, and Henry Ynostroza[5] – on charges of murder. The evidence was insufficient, yet the young men were held in jail without bail, which made the case highly publicized.
The trial ended on January 13, 1943, under the supervision of Judge Charles W. Fricke. Twelve of the defendants were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced San Quentin Prison. The others received lesser charges and were incarcerated in the Los Angeles County Jail.[6] However, the convictions were overturned on appeal in 1944. The case became a symbol of racial tensions in Los Angeles and was seen as a precursor to the Zoot Suit Riots later in 1943.[7]
- ^ Chiland, Elijah (June 5, 2016). "Mapping LA's Notorious Zoot Suit Riots". Curbed. Los Angeles.
- ^ "Rumblings & Bumblings Responses: Piero II Rises & Sleepy Lagoon in Commerce". Curbed. Los Angeles. April 3, 2008. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
- ^ Sleepy Lagoon Website
- ^ "José Gallardo Díaz (1919–1942) | American Experience | PBS". www.pbs.org.
- ^ Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee Records (Collection 107). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
- ^ SLDC Publications, Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee Records (Collection 107). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library.
{{cite book}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Romero, Lori (2012). "The Legal and Social Repercussions of the Media on the Sleepy Lagoon Trial and the Zoot Suit Riots". Scripps Senior Theses.
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