UPDATE: Guido's Employee Identity Released

Authorities today released the name of a 32-year-old man who died over the weekend under mysterious circumstances near Guido's restaurant in Malibu.

Carlos Ivan Rodas worked as a dishwasher at the local restaurant, which is located in a shopping center at Cross Creek Road and Pacific Coast Highway, and autopsy results will not be finalized before Thursday, according to Lt. Joe Bale of the Los Angeles coroner's office.

Guido's co-owner Vassil Pertchinkov said Wednesday that he, along with the restaurant staff, was in shock regarding the death of their co-worker.

"He was very nice and very pleasant, a very responsible young man," Pertchinkov said. "I'm just shocked."

Guido's was not open for business on Monday, a day after Rodas' death, but Pertchinkov commented that on Tuesday, support for the restaurant was immense.

"The local support has just been great," Pertchinkov. "The next day we had a full crowd for lunch and dinner. The support we've gotten is incredible."

Confusion has arisen regarding the circumstances of Rodas' death, as the Sheriff's Department's original report indicated he had been shot. A subsequent department report early Monday indicated the man had been confronted by a number of people and was "brutally beaten."

However, early Monday afternoon, department spokesman Steve Whitmore said the circumstances of the death were being reexamined. 

"This is an ongoing investigation, and we will learn more when the autopsy is conducted,'' Whitmore said. "It is possible that this young man died of natural causes."

According to a report from KCAL9, Rodas' body was found "covered in blood from head to toe." One Guido's worker told the station that the dead man was "a real nice guy" who came from Central America and lived with his mother.

Sheriff's homicide detective Lt. Eddie Hernandez said detectives were looking for a man seen around the parking lot just before the employee came out to empty the trash.

In support of Rodas' mother, Guido's has established the "Carlos Memorial Fund" out of Wells Fargo Bank. Checks can be made out to "The Carlos Memorial Fund," or under the account number 7429237253.

--with reports from City News Service