Murder Investigation at College Medical Center

On January 31, 2020 at approximately 12:30 p.m., officers responded to a local hospital regarding a report of a battery, which ultimately resulted in the death of a male adult.

Upon arrival, officers were informed by medical staff that the adult male victim sustained major injuries to his upper torso after being physically assaulted by an adult male suspect, who was also a patient at the hospital and shared a room with the victim. The victim was transported to another local hospital in critical condition.

The suspect, later identified as 37-year-old Reginald Daniel Panthier of Long Beach, was taken into custody and booked for attempt murder, assault with a deadly weapon that is not a firearm, and producing great bodily harm against an elder and was held in the Long Beach City Jail on $1,000,000 bail.

On February 4, 2020, detectives presented their case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office where Panthier was charged with assault with a deadly weapon that is not a firearm and producing great bodily harm against an elder.

On February 9, 2020, detectives were notified that the victim had succumbed to his injuries earlier that morning. The victim has been identified as Francisco Sanchez-Reyes, a 73-year-old resident of Long Beach. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office will be determining the official cause of death.

Detectives plan to discuss amending charges with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office this week.

Contact LBPD Violent Crimes Detail Detectives at (562) 570-7250. Anonymous tips may be submitted through “LA Crime Stoppers” by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the “P3 Tips” app to your smartphone (available at the Apple app store or Google Play), or by visiting www.LACrimeStoppers.org.