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Man found dead inside car ID’d

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36-year-old Jose Avalos of Lancaster was found dead inside a car parked at Stater Bros. Monday. Photo by LUIS MEZA.
Photo by LUIS MEZA.

LANCASTER – Authorities have released the identity of a man who was found dead inside a car parked at a Lancaster shopping center early this week.

The body of Jose Avalos, 36, of Lancaster, was found around 1:30 p.m. Monday in the 1800 Block of 20th Street East in Lancaster, according to Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter.

The body was in the back seat of a Toyota Avalon that was parked in the Staters Bros. lot; a Staters Bros. employee made the discovery, said Lancaster Community Relations Deputy Michael Rust.

Rust said there were no signs of foul play or trauma to the body, and no suicide note was found.

An autopsy and toxicology report is scheduled for today (Sept. 6) to determine the manner of death, Winter said.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station at 661-948-8460.

** Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misidentified the deceased in the photo caption. Thank you ‘T-Bone’ and ‘Me’ for the catch. **

Filed Under: Lancaster

34 comments for "Man found dead inside car ID’d"

  1. My sincere condolences to the family of this deceased young man. Never mind the negative and hateful comments from the pee brained people that do not know respect of self or others.

    I go to this shopping center frequently, and this is horribly sad.

  4. This was my friend and manager. The picture here is very disheartening. He was a wonderful man and deserves respect. He actually went by the name of Joey. I don’t appreciate the rude comments that are being made on this story. May your soul be at peace. R.I.P. You are deeply missed.

    • I agree about the picture. It is in poor taste and I am sure the family could do without the mental image. Poor guy he must have been feeling ill and wanted to rest. From the comments here it sounds like he was a wonderful person.

      • I don’t believe the picture shows anything disturbing or disrespectful, it was the way it was clearly visible in the area. To censor the media in the name of “respect and honor” is in poorer taste than anything.

    • I knew him too! So sad. I’m so sorry Joey! And all you a$$#0%*$ he was a person,someones son,friend, brother, companion. How dare you insult his
      death with racist jokes! May god have mercy on your filthy souls

  6. Look any human life is what GOD has made. Dont insult any human. He is in a better place. Rest his soul!!!! Do you think GOD made any human better than the next. He was probably going through so much.

  7. Probably fell asleep drunk and asphyxiated. Maybe he wasn’t even drunk but buzzed. The A.V. sherriff’s are known to arrest people well below the .08 “limit”. Hope he died peacefully.

  8. OMG I work there and I saw that car and him in it but we just assumed he was sleeping!! :o
    oh my goodness this is just terrible! My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, I wouldnt wish this on my worst of enemies. Wow..

    • Thanks, Cindy for your kind and honest response. “. . . we just assumed he was sleeping!” shows the importance of not assuming, but checking and inquiring of one’s neighbor – this one in a shoppping center parking lot nonetheless – to ensure he was doing alright. That could have been *you* calling for the authorities and possibly for all we know saving a life.

      The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department here does have Business Watch programs in place, similar to Neighborhood Watch. Since you work there, part of having a Business Watch is calling law enforcement/paramedics EMTs when you see something that just isn’t the normal thing. This being the middle of the day when he was found, and the temperatures in the 80s and 90s would probably be uncomfortable for someone sleeping and alive. Another reason to check on his condition.

      We’ve got to find a way to be respectful enough of people to allow them the freedom to conduct their lives, yet be caring enough to act when things may be going wrong. In a situation like this, it’s all too socially acceptable to pass such a person by and leave them alone. What they needed was help. How long he was alive and how long he was dead no one knows. Was there a point in time where he was alive and someone saw him and could have called for help? No one but God knows for sure. If the person involved was *you,* you’d be wanting someone to care and get help.

  9. Oh wow, way to mix up a name. BTW you can see his foot in the back passenger window. Yikes. :/

      • If you are going to insult someone, at least try to sound like you have an IQ about 80. This sounds like a bad insult on a racially charged third grade playground.

        • LIKE YOU SHOULD TALK, YOU GO AROUND TO DIFFERENT SITES JUST TO TALK [removed] BECAUSE YOU PROBABLY CAN’T SAY WHAT YOU WANT IN YOUR OWN HOME. YOU WOULD BE PUT IN YOUR PLACE LIKE A LITTE ***** !!!!!!!!

          • Why the ghetto attitude of threats of violence? Why are you getting so mad at that post?

            I spoke no ill of the dead on this thread, and from all accounts he sounded like a great person. You are the one disgracing this poor persons passing.