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A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder in the death of a 5-year-old boy who was seriously injured in a garbage can in Panorama City on Saturday, according to booking records and law enforcement sources.
Brycson Gaddis was arrested by Los Angeles police Wednesday morning in connection with the juvenile murder, according to law enforcement officials with first-hand knowledge of the investigation, which requested anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the media.
According to the boy’s grandfather, Troy Hearn Sr., Gaddis is said to be the ex-boyfriend of the child’s mother, and is not his father.
Law enforcement officials said the child suffered “major injuries” including a broken jaw, a broken rib bone and a lacerated liver. A LAPD spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Authorities have not disclosed any specific cause of death in the incident and the boy’s name has not been released.
Hearn also accused Gaddis of luring the boy and his mother, Kemia Hearn, 24, near the store and surged into the apartment near where his body was found. Troy Hearn said his daughter was also taken into custody for questions but was released Wednesday.
According to Troy Hearn, Kemia Hearn and Gaddis have been in and out for several years, and Gaddis allegedly stalking her.
“It’s very heartbreaking for him to do that to my five-year-old grandson,” he said. “I’m identifying my body this afternoon. I’m overwhelmed and angry so I can’t even explain it. This guy is a bad guy and I’m lucky that the police have him.”
Authorities say the boy’s body was found after responding to the 8200 block of Van Nuiss Boulevard around 7am Saturday.
For the past 12 months, Gaddis has been charged with carjacking, assault and domestic violence, and court records show that at the time of the juvenile’s death there was an aggressive bench warrant for his arrest.
In July 2024, he was one of three defendants charged with carjacking and assault arising out of a Baldwin Park incident. However, the charges against all three were dropped in December after prosecutors announced they were not ready to proceed on Gaddis’s preliminary hearing day, according to court records. As a result, Gaddis was released from prison on December 16th.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two months after being released from prison, Cadiz was arrested by Los Angeles police in February, and was charged with multiple domestic violence and false imprisonment after he repeatedly punched his girlfriend and locked her in an apartment against her will on two different occasions.
A trial date for April has been set, but Gaddis did not appear in court, leading the judge to issue a bench warrant, records show.
Gaddis was subject to electronic surveillance after the fee was filed, but several alerts were sent to the LA County Probation Department in May that the device’s battery was dead and that Gaddis had ignored calls from the surveillance company. A probation department spokesperson said Wednesday there were no records related to Gadis.
On Saturday, officers followed the tip to their Lanark Street apartment less than a mile from where the body was found, police said. Authorities executed a search warrant in one of the apartments around 9:30pm, detaining the man and woman. Two children were in the apartment as well. In total, five people were taken into custody after questioning Monday.
Women pray together during the vigil for children in Panorama City.
(Juliana Yamada/Los Angeles Times)
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services held custody of two children.
Local residents stayed up all night for the boy the same night the adult was detained, KTLA News reported. All-night attendees filmed an adult being led in handcuffs and were told that someone was screaming “justice.”
The car park where the boy was found is a collection of toys, flowers and memos.
The rainbow Snoopy was placed near a mountain star-shaped yellow helium balloon on Monday. “Fly with the little angel man,” one message said.
Eduardo Martinez, 28, a resident of Panorama City, cried and shook his head. Nearby, half a dozen people held hands and prayed.
“Whatever happened here is sleazy,” said Martinez, who attends the nursing school next door. “I hope they’ll catch the person who did this.”
This pocket in this panoramic city is primarily commercial and features dentist offices, nursing schools and restaurants lined up the streets. A nearby apartment tower floats above the parking lot.
“They haven’t found who did that yet, right?” Brandon Moreno, a teenager who lives nearby, asked a friend, peering into the chain link fence at the memorial.
Latino neighborhoods also have the advantage due to recent immigrant raids across the region, residents said.
“There are a lot now,” Moreno said.
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