Homeboy Industries Employee Stabbed to Death

An employee of Homebody Industries--the Chinatown based gang-intervention program known for its café and baked goods--was stabbed to death in a backyard in Covina on Thursday, August 28, LAist reports.

According to LAist, 38-year-old Gonzalo Robles was stabbed to death following a dispute with another man at a home he was staying at in Covina. The suspect is 32-year-old Louis Alberto Villaneda, who was later arrested on suspicion of homicide after being treated for wounds he suffered in the altercation with Robles, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports. 

From LAist:

On Thursday afternoon, Villaneda came over to help Brooks and Robles with some chores around Brooks' Covina home. Police said Robles and Villaneda got into a dispute about "respect" that ended with a fight just before 2 pm. Villaneda allegedly came after Robles with a knife and began stabbing him. Robles grabbed a knife and stabbed Villaneda in self-defense, but it was too late for Robles. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Homeboy Industries, which was founded by Father Gregory Boyle in Boyle Heights in 1988 under the name Jobs for a Future, has grown into one of the city's largest gang intervention programs. A large portion of the individuals it serves come from Eastside communities like Highland Park, Glassell Park and Cypress Park.

It currently operates out of its Chinatown headquarters, where gang members are taught employment skills through jobs in Homeboy Bakery and Homegirl Café. A 2005 photo spread in USA Today depicted Robles working in Homeboy's silk-screening press.