Man found dead in U-Haul truck in Mid-City ID'd as previously convicted felon who was shot in head

MID-CITY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A man who was found dead in the back of an abandoned U-Haul truck on a street in Mid-City has been identified as a previously convicted felon who died after being shot in the head, authorities confirmed Friday.

The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner identified the deceased man as Henry Jernigan.

The grim discovery was made sometime before 11 a.m. Thursday in the 2400 block of Redondo Boulevard, a residential street just north of the 10 Freeway.

Video from AIR7 HD showed the body was apparently wrapped in a teal-colored tarp or plastic sheet in the cargo area.

On Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed that Jernigan had served two separate prison sentences in the past eight years.

Jernigan was admitted to prison from L.A. County on Oct. 17, 2016, to serve two years for possession of a controlled substance while armed with a loaded firearm, the Department of Corrections said in a statement provided to ABC7. He received 176 days of pre-sentence credits from the court for time served while awaiting sentencing, and was later discharged to community supervision on May 11, 2017.

On Feb. 7, 2020, Jernigan was sent to prison from Santa Barbara County to serve seven years, eight months. The charges for which he was convicted in that case were: conspiracy to commit second-degree robbery and carrying a concealed dirk or dagger, with an enhancement for being armed with a firearm, officials said.

He received 1,012 days of pre-sentence credits from the court for time served while awaiting sentencing. He was released to parole supervision on Jan. 27, 2021, and discharged from parole on Jan. 27, 2022, after serving his 13th month of successful parole.

Apparent human remains were found in a U-Haul truck that was parked alongside a curb in a residential area of Mid-City, authorities said.

The Santa Barbara County case stemmed from the robbery of a marijuana cultivation facility in Carpinteria on Aug. 29, 2018. Jernigan and 31-year-old Tyrone Taylor of Lancaster were identified as the robbery suspects by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.

An investigation revealed that Taylor and Jernigan were also involved in the June 9, 2018 armed robbery at the same business located in the 1500 block of Casitas Pass Road, the Sheriff's Office said. In that case, four suspects held the security guard at gunpoint before fleeing with stolen property, according to authorities.

A grim discovery in Mid-City

The abandoned vehicle that was found Thursday in Los Angeles, a moving truck measuring at least 15 feet, had been reported stolen, according to the LAPD.

Officers responded to the scene in Mid-City after local residents notified the rental company that one of their vehicles had been abandoned, was impeding traffic, and was parked near the intersection of Apple Street and Redondo Boulevard, police said.

"An employee of the rental company responded to the location to recover the vehicle," the LAPD said in a statement. "When the rear cargo space of the vehicle was opened, he observed a tarp wrapped around what appeared to be a human body. There was also a smell of decomposition, and the employee called the police."

Anyone with information about the shooting death of Jernigan is urged to call LAPD West Bureau Homicide detectives at (213) 382-9470.