R.I.P. "BELUGA"I GOT YUH HOMIE!
Police: Livingston man in the wrong place at the wrong time
Luis Mendoza, 20, of Livingston was studying criminal law at Merced College hoping to become a probation officer or a counselor.
June 7, 2002 Posted: 05:05:08 AM PDT
LIVINGSTON -- Luis Mendoza became a statistic Saturday, a victim of the gang violence that he wanted to prevent.
His dream was to become a probation officer or a counselor to help steer youths away from the gang-banger lifestyle that has ruined too many lives. He was studying criminal law at Merced College to turn that dream into reality.
Saturday night, a carload of Atwater gang members fired four bullets into Mendoza's car, police said, fatally wounding the 20-year-old. A friend, sitting in the back seat, was seriously wounded in the attack in the 1100 block of Prusso Street.
Two adults and two juveniles were charged with murder.
Mario Mendoza said another gang-related tragedy directed his brother's career path.
"His best friend passed away from the same thing, a shooting," he said. "A lot of these young kids don't know what they're doing: destroying innocent lives forever."
Mendoza's father, Juan Mendoza, said: "To him, there was no bad person out there. He was always giving a lending hand to someone."
Police originally suspected that the shooting was between rival gang members, but now say Mendoza and his friend were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"We've concluded they are not gang members and were not at any time," Cmdr. Dan Shambaugh said. "We feel it was just a random shooting by (Atwater) gang members."
Thursday, friends and relatives streamed into Mendoza's parents' gray ranch-style home in a working-class neighborhood. Bright red, pink, yellow and white roses intertwine in the black wrought-iron fence that rings the property.
Was to be best man
Luis Mendoza was supposed to be the best man at one of his brothers' weddings next weekend. The wedding has been canceled, and now the family is preparing for a funeral on Saturday.
"They really messed up two families for life, not just a weekend or two," Mario Mendoza said. "It makes me mad, but what are we going to do? To do anything won't bring my brother back." He said he plans to attend the trials.
Luis Mendoza was the baby of the family, affectionately called "Beluga" because of his light complexion. He had just been accepted into a 16-week program to learn how to write real estate loans. That job was going to pay for the rest of his education.
"He was really looking forward to going to that school," Mario Mendoza said.
He was a doting uncle to Mario's two daughters. "He used to tell me, 'Your daughters are my daughters,'" he said.
He loved to take his two little nieces to McDonald's, where he would treat them to Happy Meals.
Luis Mendoza died Sunday, on his niece's fifth birthday.
Mario Mendoza laughed when he talked about the first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation class that his brother was taking. "He used to practice on my little girls' dolls to make sure he got it right.
"Finals at the college were really stressing him out. He would stay up studying all night," Mario Mendoza said, adding that the family is waiting for his grades to come in the mail.
He spent his spare time working on his 1992 Cadillac El Dorado, now a piece of evidence in his death.
"That was his first car," said his sister, Martha Mendoza. "He was really excited about it and was putting a stereo in. We always knew he was coming because he had his loud music going.
"He did little things for people all the time," she said. "If somebody was (in a store) struggling with the language, he would step in and translate."
"He was always happy. He never had problems," said Juan Mendoza.
He had two dogs, Shaggy and Scooby, that he liked to spoil.
"If I gave him permission, he would have had a zoo in the back yard because he loved animals so much," his father said.
I GUESS THIS IS JUST ANOTHER REMINDER OF NOT TO TAKE THING FORGRANTED,THEY CAN BE GONE SO QUICK[this is not a siccness homie,just one of my 209ahz]~209~
Police: Livingston man in the wrong place at the wrong time
Luis Mendoza, 20, of Livingston was studying criminal law at Merced College hoping to become a probation officer or a counselor.
June 7, 2002 Posted: 05:05:08 AM PDT
LIVINGSTON -- Luis Mendoza became a statistic Saturday, a victim of the gang violence that he wanted to prevent.
His dream was to become a probation officer or a counselor to help steer youths away from the gang-banger lifestyle that has ruined too many lives. He was studying criminal law at Merced College to turn that dream into reality.
Saturday night, a carload of Atwater gang members fired four bullets into Mendoza's car, police said, fatally wounding the 20-year-old. A friend, sitting in the back seat, was seriously wounded in the attack in the 1100 block of Prusso Street.
Two adults and two juveniles were charged with murder.
Mario Mendoza said another gang-related tragedy directed his brother's career path.
"His best friend passed away from the same thing, a shooting," he said. "A lot of these young kids don't know what they're doing: destroying innocent lives forever."
Mendoza's father, Juan Mendoza, said: "To him, there was no bad person out there. He was always giving a lending hand to someone."
Police originally suspected that the shooting was between rival gang members, but now say Mendoza and his friend were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
"We've concluded they are not gang members and were not at any time," Cmdr. Dan Shambaugh said. "We feel it was just a random shooting by (Atwater) gang members."
Thursday, friends and relatives streamed into Mendoza's parents' gray ranch-style home in a working-class neighborhood. Bright red, pink, yellow and white roses intertwine in the black wrought-iron fence that rings the property.
Was to be best man
Luis Mendoza was supposed to be the best man at one of his brothers' weddings next weekend. The wedding has been canceled, and now the family is preparing for a funeral on Saturday.
"They really messed up two families for life, not just a weekend or two," Mario Mendoza said. "It makes me mad, but what are we going to do? To do anything won't bring my brother back." He said he plans to attend the trials.
Luis Mendoza was the baby of the family, affectionately called "Beluga" because of his light complexion. He had just been accepted into a 16-week program to learn how to write real estate loans. That job was going to pay for the rest of his education.
"He was really looking forward to going to that school," Mario Mendoza said.
He was a doting uncle to Mario's two daughters. "He used to tell me, 'Your daughters are my daughters,'" he said.
He loved to take his two little nieces to McDonald's, where he would treat them to Happy Meals.
Luis Mendoza died Sunday, on his niece's fifth birthday.
Mario Mendoza laughed when he talked about the first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation class that his brother was taking. "He used to practice on my little girls' dolls to make sure he got it right.
"Finals at the college were really stressing him out. He would stay up studying all night," Mario Mendoza said, adding that the family is waiting for his grades to come in the mail.
He spent his spare time working on his 1992 Cadillac El Dorado, now a piece of evidence in his death.
"That was his first car," said his sister, Martha Mendoza. "He was really excited about it and was putting a stereo in. We always knew he was coming because he had his loud music going.
"He did little things for people all the time," she said. "If somebody was (in a store) struggling with the language, he would step in and translate."
"He was always happy. He never had problems," said Juan Mendoza.
He had two dogs, Shaggy and Scooby, that he liked to spoil.
"If I gave him permission, he would have had a zoo in the back yard because he loved animals so much," his father said.
I GUESS THIS IS JUST ANOTHER REMINDER OF NOT TO TAKE THING FORGRANTED,THEY CAN BE GONE SO QUICK[this is not a siccness homie,just one of my 209ahz]~209~
