A surveillance camera image of Eric Valencia leaving the Azusa Police Department station and getting into an unlocked patrol SUV on March 23. Video released by the Azusa Police Department this week shows the moment a man was freed from jail before he stepped into an unoccupied police car where he was found dead days later. He walked up to a parked patrol car outside the station. His body was found inside the unlocked SUV three days later when Wenrick told the fleet maintenance crew to take the patrol cars to get washed. Valencia’s family told KABC that Valencia lived less than a mile away and didn’t have any medical conditions.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 31, 2026 21:26 UTC