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DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Johnny Ordaz and his daughter, Coco Ordaz, 5, listen to 5th District County Supervisor John Zaragoza give an address to the public Wednesday in Oxnard.
PHOTO BY DAVID YAMAMOTO
DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Oxnard Police Chief Jeri Williams and 5th District County Supervisor John Zaragoza celebrate at the end of the march for safety Wednesday in Oxnard.
Men and women, the young and the old, walked through Oxnard on Wednesday afternoon hoping to stop the bloodshed in their neighborhood there.
Those living in the Cypress neighborhood said tension has increased on the streets lately.
“You can just feel it,” Elizabeth Wolfel-Campos, who heads the Cypress Neighborhood Council, said as she joined dozens of her neighbors for a quarter-mile walk down Cypress Road to a park.
The neighborhood council, the Oxnard Police Departments and civic organizations organized the walk.
Many walkers said they were tired of staying in their homes while others go out to commit violence.
Miguel Lopez, a police spokesman, said those who turned out Wednesday were sending a message to criminals that they would no longer have free reign of the neighborhood’s public spaces to engage in violence.
DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Jovani Vasquez, 12, a resident of Cypress Road, walks next to 5th District County Supervisor John Zaragoza as they march with community members and members of the Oxnard Police Department on Wednesday during a community walk for the safety of Oxnard.
One incident that caught many people’s attention occurred in late April when a 78-year-old man was fatally shot as he sat in his van parked outside his home.
Ruben Alfaro was found dead at the scene April 27.
Investigators called Alfaro’s killing “a terrible tragedy,” saying nothing indicated he was the intended target.
Police think the shooting was gang-related. Witnesses told investigators they heard a man yell out a gang name right before shots were fired.
Richard Linarez, a pastor at the Church for the Nations, said Wednesday’s walk was “to let the community know that we want peace, we want a more secure community.”
“Right now people are fearful and scared,” Linarez said. “Sometimes I think that people think they can’t make a difference. We’re here to show them that they can.”
DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Pastor John Cameron from United Pentecostal Church hands out information about his church to residents Wednesday during a community walk for the safety of Oxnard.
Neighbor Bertha Garcia placed some blame on parents, saying, “Many aren’t working with their children and caring for them as they should.”
John Zaragoza, a Ventura County supervisor who represents Oxnard, thanked neighbors for turning out for the walk.
“It’s important that we show the Cypress neighborhood that we care,” Zaragoza told the crowd gathered at the Garden City Acres Park after the walk.
Zaragoza encouraged everyone to be alert for crime and to report suspicious activities to police.
“This is our community and our neighbors that we are talking about,” he said.
DAVID YAMAMOTO/SPECIAL TO THE STAR Oxnard police Senior Officer Steven Funk and Police Chief Jeri Williams participates in the march for safety Wednesday during a community walk for the safety of Oxnard.
Carmen Ramirez, mayor pro tem of Oxnard, said it was important that leaders hear directly from residents.
“It’s important that we know about what’s going on in our city,” Ramirez told those gathered at the park.
Wolfel-Campos also addressed the crowd at the park, saying Wednesday was the first time she had left her home in weeks.
“Going out has not been easy lately,” Wolfel-Campos said in reference to the crime seen not only in the Cypress area but also in other neighborhoods in the city.
Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/may/14/residents-walk-through-oxnard-in-peace-rally/#ixzz31lXNodnV
- vcstar.com
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