Murder charge reported in hit-and-run that killed South LA’s “Bird”

That search led to the arrest of John Anthony Cardenas, and the case has since moved beyond the initial hit-and-run booking. MyNewsLA reported on October 22, 2026, that prosecutors charged Cardenas with one felony count each of murder, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and hit-and-run driving resulting in death or serious injury. Cardenas was 29 when detectives arrested him.⁠3⁠4

Those are accusations, not findings of guilt. The latest established step in the prosecution is the reported filing of those charges—not a plea, trial or judgment. HeyDay News has not independently examined the criminal complaint or a case-specific court docket, and the available reporting does not establish how far the case has progressed since the charging report.

According to the police account carried by CBS Los Angeles, the collision happened September 30 at about 8:43 p.m., near 69th Street. Batanikhalfani was walking eastbound when a southbound dark-blue, four-door sedan struck him. The CBS arrest article gives the collision’s month and day but does not state its year.⁠1

Police placed Batanikhalfani outside a marked crosswalk. That detail describes his reported position; it does not, by itself, decide who was legally responsible for the collision. Nor does it resolve the separate allegation that the driver failed to stop afterward. Those questions should not be collapsed into a judgment about the pedestrian.⁠1

The CBS arrest account identifies him as Akil Saud Batanikhalfani; other CBS reporting spells his name Akil Saud Batani-Khalfani and identifies him by the nickname “Bird.” He was a South Los Angeles resident whose death became the subject of public appeals for help identifying the driver.⁠1⁠2

The public appeals and video release establish that police sought outside help. They do not establish which lead ultimately brought detectives to Cardenas. The arrest account says investigators followed leads, but does not explain the identification or describe the evidence connecting him to the collision.⁠1⁠5

Detectives also served a search warrant at Cardenas’s home and impounded his vehicle as evidence. Those were evidence-gathering steps, not published forensic conclusions. The available accounts do not say what an examination of the vehicle showed or which findings prosecutors intend to rely on.⁠1⁠11

The distinction between booking and charging is central to understanding this case. CBS reported that Cardenas was initially booked on suspicion of felony hit-and-run resulting in death, with bail set at $1 million. MyNewsLA’s October 22 account subsequently described the three felony charges, including murder. The later report expands the arrest account; the initial booking description is not the latest reported stage of the prosecution.⁠1⁠4

A November 8 CBS article recounts the earlier arrest. Its November publication does not make this a November collision or arrest: the dated police update reproduced by Forth and contemporaneous arrest reporting establish October 20, 2026, as the arrest date. This is a distinction in chronology, not a disagreement between the accounts.⁠1⁠3⁠11

The murder count is the most serious reported allegation, but its label is not proof of an intentional killing. Without an independently examined complaint or the prosecution’s supporting evidence, the basis for that count cannot be assessed here. Prosecutors must prove the allegations in court; the arrest and impoundment alone do not do that work.

The initially reported $1 million bail also should not be read as a current custody update. No later bail order, release or continued detention has been established. The available record likewise supplies no verified case number, arraignment result, plea, scheduled hearing or final disposition.⁠1

For Batanikhalfani, the consequence is certain: his life ended on Central Avenue. For Cardenas, criminal responsibility remains unresolved. The next meaningful account of this case must come from what happens in court—not from treating an arrest as a conviction or an older bail figure as proof of where he is now.