FAMILIES AND LOVED ones of people who have been killed by violent crime gathered in the rain in downtown Stockton on Wednesday evening for an annual candlelight vigil and march.
For the past 20 years, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office, the DA’s Victim Witness Program, and the county’s victims of violent crime support group have hosted the family event at the Weber Point Events Center to honor the lives lost.
While rain drops poured down, the family of Juan Juarez Martinez held a large banner with a photo of him announcing a $10,000 reward for information about his homicide.
His mother, Renada Martinez, said her son was taken from her on June 9, 2011, when he was riding his bike home. She said the 17-year-old boy with special needs had been shot several times, with one bullet striking him in the head.
“He was getting ready for graduation… he never made it to graduation,” Renada said.
According to her, the shooting remains unsolved and an open case.
Images of loved ones lost
Several other families were also wearing shirts with their family members name and photo, as well as carrying poster boards and other images of their loved ones.
San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas said the event started years ago when two mothers lost their children to acts of violence and brought their anger to the DA’s office.
Freitas said that advocates from DA’s victim witness program told the grieving mothers that they would help them turn their anger into something positive to help others.
Eventually, a tree was planted at Weber Point Event Center that now stands over 20 feet tall and is a remembrance of people whose lives were lost to violence.
During the event, people were able to go up to a microphone and say their loved ones’ name out loud before hanging an ornament on the tree and then participating in the march around downtown.
San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas leads a procession through downtown Stockton with families who have lost their loved ones during the annual vigil for the victims of violent crimes on Dec. 6, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Families who have lost their loved ones march down the rain-slicked streets of Stockton during the annual vigil for the victims of violent crime on Dec. 6, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Family members hang ornaments remembering their loved ones during the annual vigil for the victims of violent crimes at Weber Point Events Center in Stockton on Dec. 6, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
The face of a woman lost to violence peers from an ornament placed in her memory at Weber Point Events Center in Stockton during the annual vigil for the victims of violent crimes on Dec. 6, 2023. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
An ornament with the photo of Carlitha Villalobos is displayed on a Christmas tree decorated by her mother Roshan Campos during the annual vigil for the victims of violent crimes at Weber Point Events Center in Stockton on Dec. 6, 2023. Villalobos died in a triple homicide in 2014. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Verda Toland (right) hugs her daughter-in-law Linda Norwood during the annual vigil for the victims of violent crimes at Weber Point Events Center in Stockton on Wednesday evening. Norwood’s husband Gary Norwood Sr. died in a drive-by shooting in May. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local) 
Families of those who lost loved ones to violent crimes gather during the annual vigil at Weber Point Events Center in Stockton on Wednesday. (Harika Maddala/Bay City News/Catchlight Local)
Valentina McKay, an attendee of the event, said her niece Lexus Tafoya was found stabbed to death inside a vehicle at Sikh Temple and Fourth streets late last year.
She said similarly to the Juarez Martinez family, there have not been any arrests made or seemingly any motives behind the homicides.
McKay said being allowed to have events such as the candlelight vigil means a lot to her because it gives her hope that people won’t stop seeking justice for her niece.
“During the holiday season, we celebrate with friends and family, but we also remember loved ones that are no longer with us, due to acts of violence,” Freitas said. “Let us use our collective voices, to hold those communities accountable, to work together for safer communities to support those who are the victims of violence.”
Victoria Franco is a reporter based in Stockton covering San Joaquin County for Bay City News Foundation and its nonprofit news site Local News Matters. She is a Report for America corps member.
