Photo: Prathaan / iStock / Getty Images
The family of a retired lab technician fatally stabbed outside a Downey, California public library is suing the city for $40 million, alleging that officials ignored repeated warnings about dangerous conditions at the site and that a stolen ambulance cost the victim his only chance at survival.
Reinaldo Jesus Lefonts, 68, was charging his Tesla at an electric vehicle station outside the Downey City Library on the morning of Saturday (September 13) when he was allegedly stabbed by Giovanni Navarro, a homeless man with 28 prior convictions. Navarro had been arrested for trespassing at the same Civic Center location less than 24 hours before the attack.
Paramedics arrived on the scene and began treating Lefonts when another homeless man, Nicholas DeMarco, stole the ambulance and led police on a high-speed chase to Alhambra, where he crashed the vehicle and was arrested. Lefonts did not survive his stab wounds and died at the scene.
Alexis Galindo, the lead attorney for the Lefonts family, did not hold back in his criticism of the city. "The City of Downey knew this parking lot was dangerous," Galindo told the Daily Breeze. "They knew the man who killed Reinaldo had just been arrested there the day before. They knew their rescue vehicle wasn't properly equipped. And still, they did nothing. Reinaldo died within reach of help that should have been there."
The claim further argues that the area was far from an unknown trouble spot. Attorneys reviewed records showing roughly 675 calls for service at the library and Civic Center between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2025, including calls involving assaults, robberies, sex crimes, arson, theft, and narcotics violations. The claim also notes that Downey Police Officer Ricardo Galvez was fatally shot in the same parking lot on November 18, 2015. "The City of Downey held a funeral for a man murdered in this specific parking lot," the claim states. "They erected a memorial.
The family is seeking $35 million in general damages and $5 million in special economic damages to cover loss of financial support, medical bills, and funeral expenses.
Navarro has been charged with murder and faces a special allegation of using a weapon to commit the offense. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing at Los Angeles Superior Court's Norwalk Courthouse on April 2.