A 49-year-old homeless man is facing a murder charge in Long Beach after the man he allegedly beat in a August 1 attack died from his injuries weeks later, police announced. Zetty Jerome Welch was initially arrested and booked on suspicion of battery causing serious bodily injury, but the charge was upgraded after homicide detectives were notified on August 31 that the victim had died.
According to KTLA, Long Beach police officers responded to the 1800 block of Long Beach Boulevard around 8:20 p.m. on August 1 after receiving a report of a man with a gun. When officers arrived, they found a man who appeared to have been assaulted, and located Welch at the scene. Long Beach Fire Department personnel took the assault victim to a hospital in critical condition.
Welch was booked on suspicion of battery causing serious bodily injury that day, per the outlet's reporting. Weeks later, once the victim succumbed to his injuries, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office formally amended Welch's charge to murder, according to police. He is now being held on $2 million bail.
What Led to the Attack Remains Unclear
Police have not said what led up to the alleged assault, and the motive remains under investigation, the report notes. The identity of the victim has also not been released, as the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner is handling identification and notification of next of kin. It is also unclear whether the initial report of a man with a gun was connected to the attack that ultimately killed the victim.
Under California Penal Code Section 243(d), battery causing serious bodily injury is a wobbler offense carrying a maximum penalty of four years in state prison, according to Power Trial Lawyers. But prosecutors typically amend such charges to murder under Penal Code Section 187 when a victim later dies and malice aforethought can be established, a legal mechanism that appears to explain the shift in Welch's case. The $2 million bail figure is consistent with default bail schedule amounts for felony murder charges in Los Angeles County Superior Court, which run at $2 million or higher under California judicial guidelines, per Welch Law APLC. Judges retain authority to modify bail or order detention based on public safety risk.
Welch has a prior criminal record in Los Angeles County. Court records reviewed by FindLaw show he was previously convicted of selling marijuana following an undercover narcotics investigation, and he admitted at the time to two prior felony convictions, including one qualifying as a strike under California's Three Strikes law. As with any pending case, Welch is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
A Second Shooting on the Same Block
The 1800 block of Long Beach Boulevard saw more violence just over a week after the fatal assault. On August 9, emergency personnel responded to a separate triple shooting in the same block that left multiple people wounded outside a liquor store, according to Newsflare. Police closed surrounding streets to examine multiple evidence markers outside the commercial venue. It has not been established whether that incident is connected to Welch's case.
How This Fits Into Long Beach's Broader Crime Trends
The case comes as Long Beach has otherwise seen violent crime trend downward. The city recorded 14 homicides and 1,013 aggravated assaults during the first six months of 2026, compared to 15 homicides and 1,134 aggravated assaults over the same span in 2025, according to data compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association. That follows a sharper drop the year before: in 2025, Long Beach saw a 26% year-over-year reduction in homicides, recording 29 total homicides alongside a 36% decline in shootings, per Guardian National Security. Statewide, California's homicide rate fell to 3.5 per 100,000 residents in 2025, the lowest recorded rate since 1966, according to state Department of Justice data published by the Long Beach Journalism Initiative.
Welch's status as a person experiencing homelessness also surfaces amid a documented rise in Long Beach's unhoused population. The city's annual Point-in-Time count found 3,729 people experiencing homelessness as of January 22, 2026, a 3.7% increase over 2025, according to the City of Long Beach. More than half of unhoused individuals surveyed in that count, 50.9%, reported losing stable housing in a city other than Long Beach, a regional migration trend detailed by LAist.
Tips Sought in Ongoing Investigation
Long Beach police urged anyone with information about the attack to contact homicide detectives Eric Thai or Chasen Contreras at 562-570-7244. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to L.A. Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477). The department has increasingly relied on its interactive crime mapping dashboard, launched earlier this year, to share neighborhood incident statistics and gather public tips on open homicide investigations.
Hoodline has previously reported on other violent incidents in the city, including a case in which a dispute led to amended felony charges after two shootings shook the city in 2024. For now, the identity of the man killed in the August 1 attack, and what sparked the violence, remain unanswered questions as the investigation continues.
