At candlelight vigil, community demands action from Gascón
Dozens of community members mourned Shannon and Ashley Alvarez during a candlelight vigil Sunday. (Photo by Vincent Medina)
NORWALK – The Norwalk community mourned Shannon and Ashley Alvarez during a candlelight vigil at Grace Brethren Church on Sunday, a week after the mother and daughter were killed in a violent car collision.
Mayor Rick Ramirez and Vice Mayor Ana Valencia attended the vigil and expressed condolences to the Alvarez family. Earlier last week, city officials were criticized for not responding to petitions to make the Foster and Studebaker Road intersection safer.
“Tonight, I stand with the Alvarez family so that they can have some consolation that justice will be served to those who commit crimes,” said mayor Ramirez. “I am saddened and angry that we have district attorney leadership that has failed in many ways to protect Norwalk, failed to enact justice reform policies, and has failed the Alvarez family.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney, George Gascón, continues to receive scrutiny for refusing to prosecute dangerous criminals.
Due to Gascón’s policies, the woman who caused the crash, Britany Lopez, was released from prison last week while authorities awaited the toxicology report.
Norwalk Detective Ann Ballesteros is leading the case. She clarified that the DA is not refusing to prosecute Lopez but is awaiting the toxicology and coroner’s report before charging Lopez.
Shannon’s boyfriend, Juan Zuniga, and her mother, Linda Seagroves, were furious upon hearing Lopez was released.
“We are still waiting for authorities to formally charge her,” said Zuniga. “At this point, we are waiting for the toxicology report to come in.”
Former LAPD detective Moses Castillo, familiar with investigating traffic laws and crimes against children, shared condolences with the community. He advocated for justice and criticized Gascón for his lack of action.
Castillo says video of the crash shows that Lopez is clearly at fault.
It shows that the Alvarezs’ vehicle had the green light. Still, Lopez burst into the intersection, slamming into the Alvarez’s and hitting another car.
(The security camera footage of the collision is graphic and violent, viewer discretion is advised.)
“I’m in the opinion that they could’ve charged Lopez, then receive the toxicology report and amend it,” said Castilo. “Gascón’s philosophy is to advocate more for the criminals than the victims. This is a perfect example of that.”
Residents also called for Mayor Ramirez and the city council to initiate city reform to keep the intersection and dangerous parts of Norwalk safe.
Ramirez encouraged the community to hold community leaders accountable and to speak at the upcoming Norwalk City Council meeting on Jan. 18 at 6 pm.
Zuniga and Seagroves plan to move forward with legal action against Lopez.