Truckers mourn homeless friend who cared for stray dogs

The homeless man called the asphalt-covered truck yard in Commerce home, and the truckers treated not only him but his faithful dogs like family.

The truckers would buy tacos at the lunch truck for the man and his dogs. He would polish the tires and wheels of big rigs, and a couple of times, truckers would even take him on hauls to Arizona and beyond. They marveled at the affection he showed his two dogs, bathing them with a water hose a security guard let him use and grieving when one of his pets was killed by a car.

The security guard grew to consider the homeless man a friend, and bought him an old van so he wouldn’t have to sleep outside.

But in the early morning hours Tuesday, someone shot the man four times in the head. His remaining dog, named Spike, seemed to keep vigil over his body as emergency crews arrived. Now, the trucker community in this industrial town is in mourning. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is investigating, but detectives said they have no suspects or a motive.

“He loved those dogs. I’d tell him let’s go eat and we’d go to the lunch truck and he would say, ‘I want this and my dogs want this,’” recalled trucker Mario Solis, 34, who let the man sleep in his green and white Peterbilt big rig on weekends. A Mexican immigrant, the homeless man was known only by his nicknames. Some people knew him as Chilango, slang for someone from Mexico City.

Others called him Chuy. He was loud and humorously profane, they said, but almost always good natured. He doted on his dogs, Spike and a smaller dog he called Chaparra, Spanish for short.

Truckers said he used to own a video store on nearby Olympic Boulevard years ago before it went bust.

They said he had a license to drive a big rigs and had an affinity for the trucking community. The truckers in turn took such good care of him that some people in the surrounding neighborhood said the man did not fit their stereotype of a bedraggled homeless man.

Truck driver Jorge Lopez, 25, stands near the site where a trucker found a homeless man shot to death on Indiana Street near Contessa Drive in the city of Commerce.  Photo: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Amy]

With no suspects or motive, and a homeless victim (no matter how beloved in the community), I fear this man's death will go unpunished. I hope someone takes care of Spike for him.

[Charles]

Please someone take care of this mans dogs. please...

[bg]

God, what is wrong with people? I hope someone will take care of his little dog for him as a tribute.

[acc]

This is so sad - still more killing of the homeless. I hope they catch the person(s) who did this. The poor dog looked so sad - waiting for his owner. I think this dog will find a new home because of the media coverage, but what will happen to the other animals this man befriended? I know this is corny but I hope they all meet again in heaven some day because - that's real love. Those people who were kind to this man and his dogs are special people - especially the security guard who provided a van for the homeless man to sleep in.

[Miss Fruitfly]

This breaks my heart.

[jess]

god bless mr. - i did not know you, i wish i did, rest in peace, may someone look after spike with the same love and affection you had for your creatures

[Pell Mell]

Seems to me the deceased man had a home and more family than most. The killer(s) have earned themselves a living hell. I hope they live an extremely long, long life of complete desolate isolation.

[mary]

may he rest in peace. a sad reflection upon our society and a true testament that dogs are man's best friend, even in death. i hope that spike gets a loving home.

[faustino CHAPA]

May god bless his soul.

[Debbie Mohr]

What happened to Spike?

[DP]

Where is the photo of the dog that was mentioned in an earlier comment here? Was that on the tv news? I've emailed the first link above and asked that they provide a follow-up as to what happened to this man's dogs. I hope that the security guard made an arrangement for them and they weren't taken to animal control. They might've if the dogs didn't have their rabies tags. (I hope they did.)

[Dee]

What happened to the dogs? I emailed the station and asked them to follow up on this. I want to know what happened to the dogs. Surely those truckers who loved the guy so much, surely they took them. I think the security guard would've taken them at the time of this man's death. How I hope so.