Authorities have confirmed that Ivan Gallegos, a 19-year-old University of Southern California student from Los Angeles, will not face charges for the fatal stabbing of Xavier Cerf, 27, during a confrontation near the school’s Greek Row.
Gallegos was initially arrested on suspicion of murder and held on $2 million bail following the incident on Monday night.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office opted not to pursue charges against the business student, determining that he acted in self-defense and had a reasonable belief that Cerf was armed with a gun.
“We believe that Mr. Gallegos’s actions were driven by a genuine fear for his life and the lives of others,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement Thursday.
In a document evaluating the charges released by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, it was detailed that Xavier Cerf, a homeless man, was captured on security camera footage entering a 2010 Mercedes Benz parked behind the fraternity house where Ivan Gallegos resides.
Following the activation of the car alarm, Gallegos, armed with a knife and accompanied by two others — one wielding a large wooden stick — went outside to investigate.
According to NBC’s report on the document, as they approached the car belonging to a friend, Cerf refused to exit and locked himself inside, asserting that the car was “calling him” and “had his name.”
Moments later, he opened the driver’s door and seemed to be stepping out when he allegedly informed Gallegos he was armed and reached towards his waist, as recounted by witnesses.
Authorities stated that Gallegos then seized Cerf’s hands with his left hand and stabbed him in the chest with a knife held in his right hand. Prosecutors further indicated that a struggle ensued during which Cerf was stabbed three additional times.
Cerf succumbed to his injuries at the scene, which was in an alley behind USC’s Greek Row. Gallegos, a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, remained at the location and was subsequently taken into custody.
The teenager asserted self-defense, stating that Cerf had claimed to be armed with a gun, although no firearm was discovered by law enforcement officers.
Gallegos, who recently completed his second year at the university, is a distinguished student pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management at USC’s Marshall School of Business.
He was recently featured in USC’s Annenberg Media, where he discussed his passion for music and recounted his challenging upbringing in East Los Angeles, which motivated him to become a first-generation Latino college student.
“Throughout his childhood, Ivan navigated the realities of both his parents’ involvement in gang activities, leading to their intermittent incarceration,” the report said.
“Despite growing up in an environment saturated with drugs, gangs and prostitution, he focused on music and sharpened his skills to become a multifaceted instrument and vocalist.”
Yema Jones, the mother of the victim, informed NBC that he was a dancer and comedian who relocated from Texas to Los Angeles. He had recently spent 20 days hospitalized for a mental health condition that was not specified, and he was discharged the day he died.
“I’m lost. I’m confused. I’m hurt,” she said. “You took my son. You took my baby. You took my baby.”
