Man chasing accused shoplifter is run over, killed, CA cops say. Teen arrested
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in the death of a man run over while confronting an accused shoplifter outside his brother’s store, California deputies said.
Through an investigation, detectives identified the teenager as the driver of the car that struck Kourosh Yaghoubi, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in an April 21 news release. Deputies did not identify the teen.
Kourosh Yaghoubi was visiting his brother’s South El Monte store, Giant Discount Store, the afternoon of April 9 when a suspect entered and stole merchandise, deputies said they learned through an initial investigation.
Kourosh Yaghoubi’s brother, Jamshid Yaghoubi, told KCAL the suspect took a $10 box of face masks without paying.
Kourosh Yaghoubi chased the accused shoplifter to the parking lot, where the altercation grew physical, deputies said.
As the two fought, another suspect exited a car and joined in the confrontation, deputies said.
“The guy punched him in the head and knocked him down,” Jamshid Yaghoubi told KTTV.
The two then entered the sedan and intentionally hit Kourosh Yaghoubi multiple times, according to deputies.
“They ran over my brother,” Jamshid Yaghoubi told KTTV. “He was under the car. They put it in gear and one more time my brother was under the car and they ran away.”
Responding deputies found Kourosh Yaghoubi with blunt force trauma injuries, and he was pronounced dead on scene, the department said.
Jamshid Yaghoubi was with his brother “at the last minute of his life,” KABC reported.
“I don’t know why this happened,” he told the TV station.
Lt. Michael Modica with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department called the incident “a senseless act of violence, especially for such a minor item,” KABC reported.
Maria Bugarin, a decades-long customer of the El Monte store, told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that Kourosh Yaghoubi was a caring man, noting “if people were a dollar short, he would just give the item to them.”
“He was a good guy and hopefully God has a nice spot for him,” she told the newspaper.
Hours after the altercation, detectives found the empty sedan “at the registered owner’s home,” Modica told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.
The teen, who is related to the car owner, was arrested on a murder charge at his home April 18, Modica told the newspaper.
Deputies said the case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which will consider filing criminal charges against the boy.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing as deputies are working to identify several others seen in the car.
Anyone with information is asked to contact deputies at 323-890-5500.
South El Monte is about a 10-mile drive east from Los Angeles
This story was originally published April 22, 2025 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Man chasing accused shoplifter is run over, killed, CA cops say. Teen arrested."
