SAN ANTONIO – It has been over a year since 15-year-old Angel Ray Garcia and Gregorio Ricardo Cordova-Mejia were murdered at a South Side apartment complex on Pleasanton Road.
That time has not stopped their families from actively asking the community for information on the case.
“He had this big, goofy smile. He loved making people smile. It was like the class clown,” said Gregorio’s girlfriend, who wanted to stay anonymous for safety reasons.
Tears fell down her cheeks as she looked down at her little 2-year-old daughter.
“She wasn’t even a year old when it happened. When she sees a picture of him, she’ll go, ‘Hi Dada’ or ‘Bye Dada.’ I just tell her that her dad loved her and that he just wanted the best for her,” she said.
Six months after the murders, no one had been arrested, so Angel’s mom, Jesica Martinez, had a big billboard put up on Pleasanton Road showing the boys’ faces and a $5,000 reward.
“This is just a reminder to everybody around that the person who did this has not been caught,” Martinez said, pointing to the billboard.
Just a month and a half ago, the billboard was updated, now showing the reward to be $10,000.
As a push to keep the case alive, the Martinez and Mejia families each raised $2,500 to put toward the reward.
They spent $400 to update the billboard, and what’s left will go towards the monthly fee to keep it standing.
“There’s some tips coming in, but, you know, we need some harder evidence,” Martinez said.
Martinez sees the surge of violence involving young people and is getting involved in community groups.
“Search and Support San Antonio has been a great support system for us. We just went to their 5K. They help families for victims of unsolved crimes, missing people, the list goes on,” Martinez said.
When she fights for answers about her son, she’s fighting for other children too.
“It makes me sad and makes me want to do something about it. Angel Ray was a good kid, and he didn’t deserve this at all,” she said.
Looking down at her daughter, Gregorio’s girlfriend said, “She deserves justice. It is not going to bring him back, but that person doesn’t deserve to be out there just in the streets when they killed somebody that had a family, a daughter.”
In a plea to the community, they said even the smallest piece of information can help in the case.
“If they remember anything at all, if they remember hearing anything, if they’ve seen anybody — certain color shirt — they know what kind of car was around, anything helps,” Martinez said.
If your tip leads to an arrest, the $10,000 could be yours. Call Crimestoppers at (210) 224-7867 if you have any information.
