Loved ones remember 15-year-old gunned down while trying to buy phone
Family and friends left heartfelt notes, candles and flowers for a 15-year-old boy who was gunned down on a Long Beach basketball court while trying to buy a cell phone.
"Thank you for all the wonderful memories in my class," wrote his former teacher Joanna Alvarez. "Your smile will be missed."
Alvarez's former student, Joshua Simmons, was shot to death just before 9:30 p.m. in the 1000 block of Via Wanda when he attempted to buy a phone from someone he met online. Simmons was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was later declared dead at a Carmelitos Community Center basketball court.
The suspect, 24-year-old Jose Bustamonte Cardenas, turned himself into the Long Beach Police Department shortly after the shooting.
"Whatever altercation led to my nephew dying, it's still two lives that are lost," said Simmon's uncle Vannarith Im.
Simmons' family including Im said they are trying to figure out why the 15-year-old needed another phone even though he already had one.
"We're just all at a loss for words," said Im. "Everybody always says 'I would give him my phone if he ever needed a phone.' Everybody is just in shock that he would make a transaction this late with somebody... that we don't know."
