A young gang member was convicted Tuesday in the murder of Eddie Lopez in 2006 in Santa Monica, as well as the murder of Miguel Martin later that year, two days after Christmas.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-gang-member-convicted-killing-santa-monica-high-student-20131114,0,47319.story#axzz2kbbvlKEl
Eddie remains on my mind because he attended the same schools as my daughters: John Adams Middle School and Santa Monica High School.
He was only 15 years old, a popular student and outstanding right fielder on a SMHS baseball team when he was gunned down. Jose Zapien is the convicted killer, now 25 years old but then only 18.
Eddie's life was taken on Pico Blvd. at 26th Street, two blocks from Virginia Avenue Park where Miguel was shot. I drive past these locations, a mile from my home, daily.
I see Eddie's mother, Arminda Lopez, when I go to the local grocery store where she works.
Each time I see her, I am riveted: she lives every day with the loss of her son. She goes to work and smiles at the customers. How does she do it?
This past weekend she mentioned hoping for a conviction. "There's plenty of evidence that it's him," she said. "But some people are saying that the real killer is in Mexico."
I was amazed that for seven years the case has been unresolved. To me, Eddie's death is an event in the past.
For her, however, it's not over. She has accepted the loss of her son but still has had to follow the case in court and worry about whether Eddie's killer will go free.
As of today, she has one less uncertainty: Zapien faces multiple life sentences without parole.
Knowing Arminda and caring about Eddie reminds me of the shallowness of my life and my problems. There I am, rushing down the cereal aisle, pressured to get back home and get papers graded before tomorrow's classes, when suddenly a wider perspective opens before me.
Arminda. Eddie. Gang warfare right here in Santa Monica.
Economic privilege is the underpinning of every moment of my life. The neighborhood has been safe for my daughters, probably because they are white and female and well-off and did not hang out at the park.
For those born male and Mexican-American or Salvadoran-American, the area is not so safe.
What factors drew Jose Zapien into the gang life?
I don't know, but one thing is sure: he did not grow up surrounded by books and toys, driven to soccer games, taken to the pediatrician and orthodontist every few weeks.
Thank you to LA Times reporter Robert J. Lopez for writing up this report from the statement issued by the Santa Monica Police Department. As far as news in Los Angeles today, this conviction is just a footnote. In the lives of many, however, it is huge.
Here's the Santa Monica Daily Press report:
http://smdp.com/hardcore-gang-member-convicted-in-lopez-martin-murders/129356
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-gang-member-convicted-killing-santa-monica-high-student-20131114,0,47319.story#axzz2kbbvlKEl
Eddie remains on my mind because he attended the same schools as my daughters: John Adams Middle School and Santa Monica High School.
He was only 15 years old, a popular student and outstanding right fielder on a SMHS baseball team when he was gunned down. Jose Zapien is the convicted killer, now 25 years old but then only 18.
Eddie's life was taken on Pico Blvd. at 26th Street, two blocks from Virginia Avenue Park where Miguel was shot. I drive past these locations, a mile from my home, daily.
I see Eddie's mother, Arminda Lopez, when I go to the local grocery store where she works.
Each time I see her, I am riveted: she lives every day with the loss of her son. She goes to work and smiles at the customers. How does she do it?
This past weekend she mentioned hoping for a conviction. "There's plenty of evidence that it's him," she said. "But some people are saying that the real killer is in Mexico."
I was amazed that for seven years the case has been unresolved. To me, Eddie's death is an event in the past.
For her, however, it's not over. She has accepted the loss of her son but still has had to follow the case in court and worry about whether Eddie's killer will go free.
As of today, she has one less uncertainty: Zapien faces multiple life sentences without parole.
Knowing Arminda and caring about Eddie reminds me of the shallowness of my life and my problems. There I am, rushing down the cereal aisle, pressured to get back home and get papers graded before tomorrow's classes, when suddenly a wider perspective opens before me.
Arminda. Eddie. Gang warfare right here in Santa Monica.
Economic privilege is the underpinning of every moment of my life. The neighborhood has been safe for my daughters, probably because they are white and female and well-off and did not hang out at the park.
For those born male and Mexican-American or Salvadoran-American, the area is not so safe.
What factors drew Jose Zapien into the gang life?
I don't know, but one thing is sure: he did not grow up surrounded by books and toys, driven to soccer games, taken to the pediatrician and orthodontist every few weeks.
Thank you to LA Times reporter Robert J. Lopez for writing up this report from the statement issued by the Santa Monica Police Department. As far as news in Los Angeles today, this conviction is just a footnote. In the lives of many, however, it is huge.
Here's the Santa Monica Daily Press report:
http://smdp.com/hardcore-gang-member-convicted-in-lopez-martin-murders/129356
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