March 8, 2026, 3:56 p.m. ET The family of a California lab tech who was stabbed by a homeless career criminal and left to die after another homeless man stole the ambulance on site to save him is suing the city for $40 million. Reinaldo Jesus LeFonts, 68, was charging his Tesla outside the Downey City Library last September when Giovanni Navarro, a man convicted of 28 crimes, knifed him to death, according to police. Reinaldo Lefonts was a lab technician. His family is now suing the city of Downey over his death. Facebook/claudiafrometa4downeycitycouncil Paramedics arrived on the scene, known to be a hotbed of crime, when another homeless man, Nicholas DeMarco, took off with the vehicle, leading police on a high-speed chase. The pursuit ended with DeMarco wrecking the ambulance. Lefonts didn’t survive his stab wounds and died at the scene. “In that moment, every second mattered. The City’s paramedics and rescue vehicle were Reinaldo’s only realistic chance of survival,” states a claim filed by the family seeking $40 million in damages, according to The OC Register. Explore More