Murder victims' families rally to support recall of embattled Alameda County D.A.
OAKLAND -- The families of seven homicide victims in Alameda County held a rally in front the courthouse in Oakland Saturday afternoon to show their support for the recall of District Attorney Pamela Price.
They said Price should work for the public defender's office, claiming she fights for the criminals rather than the victims.
Earlier in the week, a group submitted paperwork to begin the process of recalling Price.
One of the people who spoke at the rally was Anna Toletino. She said she is fighting for justice even though the teenager who killed her son, Rienheart Asuncion, has taken a plea deal and is serving time.
"As a mother, I cannot accept (that plea deal)," Toletino said.
The teen is currently serving seven years in juvenile detention. Investigators said the killing of Asuncion was a case of road rage. The homicide happened last year in San Lorenzo.
"They say he's a juvenile but he's (linked to) three murders," said Toletino.
Prosecutors said the teenager who killed Asuncion was 17 years old at the time. That same teenager is also a suspect in the killing of two brothers -- Jazy and Angel Sotelo Garcia -- at an Oakland house party last year. Both were Berkeley High School students. The teenager has not been charged in their deaths.
"That's one of our fears, that the suspect will get seven years as well when we believe this is not a 7-year sentence. This should be life," said Erika Galavis, aunt of Jazy and Angel Sotelo Garcia.
The victims' families want justice and accountability and they accuse Price of being soft on crime. They want her ousted.
"I feel pain in the heart. I feel that we're not being respected as victim's family," Galavis said.
Asuncion was 30 years old when he was shot and had been married just four months before his death.
Toletino said while she'll never get her son back. She wants to make sure it doesn't happen to another family.
"If you don't speak up, it's going to happen again," Toletino said.