Tears and memories are all that’s left after someone close to you dies. And it’s always too soon. But dying at the hands of a knife or a gun just feels like such a waste. 

On Jan. 25, Santa Maria’s homicide toll for 2016 hit five victims, almost doubling total homicides for 2014, when there were three. We haven’t even made it one month into the year yet. It’s shocking. There are no words to describe my feelings. All I can do is shake my head and search for answers. 

Here’s the list of victims:

• Jan. 25, stabbing victim on the 1600 block of East Donovan Road: 15-year-old Marcos Arce Ramos, a Pioneer Valley High School freshman. 

• Jan. 25, shooting victim on the 300 block of South Elizabeth Street: unidentified as of press time.

• Jan. 25, shooting victim on the 300 block of South Elizabeth Street: unidentified as of press time.

• Jan. 13, shooting victim at Main Street and Oakley Avenue: 23-year-old Javier Murillo-Sanchez.

• Jan. 13, shooting victim at Main Street and Oakley Avenue: 23-year-old Aaron Sanchez-Hernandez

And there were others in December:

• Dec. 26, shooting victim at Jewel and Via Rubio: 42-year-old Ramiro Ceja Gonzales.

• Dec. 26, shooting victim at Jewel and Via Rubio: 26-year-old Manuel Manzano-Mato.

• Dec. 4, shooting victim on the 500 block of West Sonya: 18-year-old Brayan Arturo Mejia-Molina

And in November:

• Nov. 20, a shooting victim on the 1500 block of South Thornburg: 17-year-old Ulises Garcia-Mendez.

Notice a pattern? It seems like the death toll is accelerating at a rapid clip. 

That’s eight people who died on the streets of Santa Maria in the last three months because of violence. Nine if you count the victim from Oct. 30, Abrahan Rojas. Four teenagers died at the hands of violence in 2015; the death toll for the year, of course, is higher than that. I believe 2015 rings in with a total of 13 homicide victims. And we’re currently on track to shatter that record. Completely. Five homicides in one month multiplied by 12 months and perhaps even continuing to increase as it has been. I could be an alarmist, but I can’t help it—to look at those names is too astounding.

The Santa Maria Police Department has also responded to a plethora of calls of shots fired: three of those shootings were on Nov. 20, where four other victims were much luckier than teen Garcia-Mendez. There was a shooting on Jan. 14 with no apparent victims, and another one on Jan. 15 where the victim received non life-threatening injuries. 

And so far, there have only been arrests in connection with one of Santa Maria’s last nine homicide victims. Police arrested 19-year-old Israel Gaspar Cruz and an unidentified 14-year-old in connection with the stabbing that occurred near Pioneer Valley High School on Jan. 25. They found the pair hiding in the Santa Maria Riverbed. 

A 14-year-old! 

Lucky for us, the SMPD showed its might by arresting two “suspected gang members” (according to the SMPD) who were found in possession of a loaded firearm on Jan. 23. I guess that’s one gun off the streets. I’m sure there are others. 

I don’t really have anything sarcastic to say about the situation Santa Maria is wading through. Just worry, concern, heartache, and shock. Can we call a state of emergency? Have we reached that point yet?

City leaders, speak up for God’s sake. Speak up! Do you have anything to say? Now would be the time to show your civic leadership. 

City residents arrived at the most recent City Council meeting (Jan. 20) to voice their concerns, with City Council members—Mayor Alice Patino and councilmembers Bob Orach, Terri Zuniga, Jack Boysen, and Etta Waterfield—and Police Chief Ralph Martin. All our elected officials were sure to let us know that they have every faith in the police department’s efforts to keep the city safe.

But it’s a hard thing to hold on to when it seems like things are escalating. I get it, OK, law enforcement has a tough job. As Waterfield said at that meeting, police have to build a case. They can’t just arrest somebody or multiple somebodies on a hunch or a tip. If I learn anything from watching crappy cop shows like Blue Bloods or Law & Order, that’s what I learned. Things take time.

But—and this is a big but—residents need to also be reassured that they’re safe, things aren’t going to get out of hand, the cops are making progress. You have to give the people more than “we’re working on it.” Is it gang violence? Is it a gang war? Is it random? What can we help you with? What can we do other than call in reports of shots fired?

Prevention?

Protection?

It’s hard to wrap our minds around. And we’re scared for ourselves, but mostly, we’re scared for our children. For the next young person who gets caught up in something they don’t get to come back from. 

The Santa Maria Times reported that council members couldn’t really speak about the violence at that Jan. 20 meeting because it wasn’t on the agenda. Well, it should be on the agenda at the next meeting. The next meeting is on Feb. 3. Put it on there. Let’s talk about it. As a community through our leaders. And Chief Martin should be there. Let’s have some real public discourse on the issue.

Enlighten the public, instead of leaving us to try and piece it together ourselves.  

The canary’s a fan of transparency and open discussion. Let’s do this! Send comments to [email protected]

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