Gang Member Charged In Murder Of USC Student Victor McElhaney

click to expand

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A 23-year-old man has been arrested and charged in the March killing of a 21-year-old USC student and the son of a prominent Oakland politician.

An undated photo of 21-year-old Victor McElhaney, a USC student who was shot and killed during a robbery attempt in South Central Los Angeles on March 10, 2019. (credit: the McElhaney family)

Ivan Hernandez was arrested June 28 by Los Angeles police and charged with one count of murder in the killing of Victor McElhaney, the L.A. County district attorney's office reported Tuesday.

The charge carries special circumstance allegations of murder during the course of an attempted robbery and murder while he is an active participant in a criminal street gang. If convicted as charged, he could face the death penalty.

At around 12:30 a.m. on March 10, McElhaney was with a group of friends in the area of Adams Boulevard and Maple Avenue – about a mile from the USC campus -- when Hernandez shot McElhaney during a robbery attempt, prosecutors allege.

McElhaney was rushed to a hospital, where he died from his wounds.

McElhaney was a Jazz Studies student at the USC Thornton School of Music and the son of Oakland Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney. He is originally from Oakland and had transferred to USC in the fall of 2017.

Hernandez was ordered held without bail while awaiting arraignment Aug. 7.