Sandy De La Mora had a simple and pointed message to the two men accused of gunning down her husband at a community event in Wilmington last year, as Los Angeles police announced the suspects’ arrests on Thursday, Feb. 8.
“I want answers,” De La Mora said. “I want to know why you would cowardly come to a community event where there were many families and children there to shoot at a crowd that killed my husband.
“My husband did not deserve this,” she said. “He was a great husband, an amazing father, an amazing friend and now we are left torn and broken because of your cowardice.”
Sergio Esteban, 28 and Estevan Hernandez, 27, both of San Pedro, face murder charges in the death of 46-year-old Jose Quezada, a beloved Wilmington community member known as a baseball coach and a cook who supported grieving families by preparing food for memorial gatherings.
Hernandez faces an additional charge of personally using a firearm, court records show.
On July 27, 2023, Quezada had barbecued chicken for a Summer Night Lights event at Wilmington’s Will Hall Park put on by the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Community Safety.
Police said Esteban and Hernandez approached as Quezada was leaving the event at the Wilmington Recreation Center along Bay View Drive.
Councilman Tim McOsker said Quezada also coached baseball at Will Hall Park.
“He coached generations of kids,” McOsker said. “He was a mentor to so many young people. He was at every event. He made sure that if someone was sick or perished, whether it be by violence or some other cause, he was one of those core people in the community…that would draw everyone together…and support that family.
“The legacy of Jose Quezada lives on in Wilmington,” McOsker said.
While not getting into specifics, LAPD Capt. Jamie Bennett said Esteban and Hernandez were documented gang members and the shooting appeared to be gang-motivated. Quezada was not a gang member, but officials Thursday said other…
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