Sacramento on edge as police try to solve slayings of 3 Mexican nationals
By Crystal Carreon
A shudder of fear began piercing south Sacramento's immigrant
neighborhoods
Sunday, as authorities intensified their efforts to find who could be
responsible for the recent shooting deaths of three Mexican men.
Unable to explicitly link the crimes to a serial killer or a hate motive,
Sacramento police on Sunday continued to stress their "great concern" over
"a high number of consistencies" in the shootings, and said they were not
ruling anything out, Sgt. Matt Young said.
The concerns have already triggered a massive, multiagency search for
evidence, and police issued bilingual pleas for anyone - regardless of
immigration status - to come forward with information into the deaths of:
.. Raul Magana-Valencia, 32, who was shot to death while pulling out of
his
driveway on Hogan Drive on the morning of Feb. 19;
.. Alejo Zavala, 20, killed while driving on 24th Street near Glen Ellen
Circle about 12:30 a.m. March 9;
.. Oscar Gamez-Carreon, 22, who was fatally shot while driving on 42nd
Street
around 1:30 a.m. March 29.
The three shootings - which all occurred within about a one-mile radius
around 47th Avenue - claimed three Mexican nationals with no criminal
histories in the county, police said. Each individual was fired upon
multiple times while driving.
In the Golf Course Terrace neighborhood where Magana-Valencia was killed,
neighbors remained stunned and confused over the outbreak of violence on
their street.
Magana-Valencia, a father of three children, was leaving for his job at a
Mexican grocer around 6:30 a.m., just as he did every morning, when he was
shot in front of his Hogan Drive ranch house.
No one answered the door of the Magana-Valencia home Sunday. Neighbors
said
it appeared that the family had moved out last week. The front lawn, once
neatly kept, was overgrown. White lace curtains shuttered the living room
window.
Jacinto Mejia, 35, a next-door neighbor who also leaves for work in the
early hours, said the prospect that the man may have been targeted because
of his nationality made him fearful.
Mejia said in Spanish he will be alert, and look around more carefully
when
he leaves his house.
Several other neighbors, who identified themselves as Mexican nationals,
said they were fearful and declined to speak on the record.
A few blocks away, Raul Martinez peddled in the sun along 47th Avenue with
an ice cream cart in tow. He hadn't heard of the shootings or of any
recent
problems in the area, but said he found the news "scary."
"This is very, very bad," he said during a short stop on the sidewalk.
"I'm
always careful when I work."
Family members of Zavala, whose body was found slumped in his car in the
middle of 24th Street by a gas station last month, declined to speak at
length about the young man on Sunday, but a relative said they were still
pained and confused by the cir***stances of the crime.
"He didn't have any problems with anybody; he got along with everybody,"
Elizabeth Zavala said of her cousin.
She said Zavala, who had lived in Sacramento for the past four to five
years, juggled several jobs to send money to home to Mexico to help pay
for
his little sister's leukemia treatment. He was working to help the family,
she said.
Police said they believed Zavala was shot by someone in a passing car,
described as a dark, American-made sedan. A passenger in Zavala's
Mitsubi****
Galant was not injured in the shooting.
At La Superior Market on Stockton Boulevard, supervisor Adolfo Mendoza
studied the photo of Gamez-Carreon in the Sunday newspaper.
The young man had worked behind the butcher counter at the store for just
15
days, Mendoza said, before his death, noting the young man's punctuality
and
work ethic. Gamez-Carreon was earning income to help sup****t his
3-year-old
son.
But Mendoza also looked at the photo of Magana-Valencia; he, too, had
worked
at the store a few years ago.
Both men, Mendoza said, were good employees.
"This is disturbing," he said amid the crush of Sunday shoppers. "I will
tell others to be more careful about their surroundings."
The Mexican consul general in Sacramento, Alejandra Bologna, reserved
sounding any alarms in the local Mexican community on Sunday until the law
enforcement investigation is completed.
"We condemn any violent actions or crimes, but I think we need to wait .
for
the results of the investigation," Bologna told The Bee. "If not, there
will
be too much speculation."
Bologna said officials have been in contact with families of two of the
three homicide victims to help with funeral arrangements but have not
heard
from law enforcement regarding the crimes.
She said the consulate will continue to work to protect the rights of
Mexican nationals and provide resources to help crime victims re****t their
experiences to the appropriate authorities.
On Sunday, Young of the Police Department said he hoped residents will
come
forward without any fear of de****tation or other penalties.
"A person's immigration status is of no relevance to our investigation,"
he
said of the homicides.
"There's too much at stake, here. Three men - three good men - have lost
their lives."
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/859554.html
Hate is not about immigration status, Dummies. It's about race. And then,
of
course, ALL the problems in the US are the fault of the Mexicans, doncha
know. The Cubans, iraqis, iranis, koreans, hondurans, salvadorans, and
countless Bush greets others with cookies and milk. The Mexicans are met
with hate and violence.
Republicans say: The illegals are turning areas of California into Mexico,
they even have a Taco Bell down da street, Duh.
hahaha... Idiots! Go back to fuggin' Indiana, Jerk!
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