NO MORE STOLEN LIVES! - 2

This picture speaks to my heart so much,

Profound grief is bounding Danny Garcia (MC of Oct 22 Rally in SF), National President of FAMILIES (of loved ones murdered by law enforcement), whose brother Mark was killed by Mission PD in 1998, Mirna Ayala, mother of Julio Ayala, beaten todeath by 13 SSF police officers in April 05, and mesha Monge-Irizarry, mother of idriss Stelley, murdered by SFPD in 2001.

Mirna sobs at the mike, hardly able to speak, reliving the tragedy every second of her life.

We love you Mirna, stay strong Mamita

mesha
ISF

Friends, family remember slain teen following shooting
by Kara D. Machado, 10/24/2006

Angel Omstead said the last thing she and her boyfriend Christopher Arrion Burgess said to each other was that they loved each other. Burgess was shot and killed by a Eureka police officer Monday afternoon.

Omstead said she and Burgess, both 16 and of Eureka, were at the home of Lisa Nelson — commonly referred to as “an extended mother/aunt to lost youth,” Nelson said — when probation officials and police entered the residence, located in the 3300 block of Dolbeer Street in Eureka on a probation warrant for Burgess.

“We were sitting down watching a movie over at my aunt’s,” Omstead said. “The door was open; we were getting fresh air when we were watching the movie.

“As soon as (law enforcement) came in, they said, ‘Hey, Chris,’ and started (to mace) people.”

Nelson added, “They came in like the Gestapo.”

Omstead said she watched as Burgess ran out of the house in his black shorts, blue sweatshirt and shoes.

She was also present when, Omstead said, Burgess was shot three times in the chest.

EPD Public Information Officer Suzie Owsley did not specify the number of times Burgess was shot or where he was shot. However, Humboldt County Coroner Frank Jager said Burgess was shot multiple times in the chest area.

Burgess did have a knife at the time of the chase, family and friends said, but had tossed it to the ground prior to being shot.

After the shooting, Burgess’ mother, Margorie Burgess, said she rushed to the scene.

“They tried not to let me through; a probation officer lady grabbed my arm, but I pushed through,” Margorie said. “He died at the scene; they’re lying (about him dying at St. Joseph Hospital).

“He had dirt all over his face; they had a tube in his mouth. You don’t shoot children. That’s not the way this world should be working.”

Owsley reported Burgess was pronounced dead at St. Joseph Hospital.

Just a couple of hours after her son was shot, Margorie stood outside her home, crying, surrounded by family and friends.

Every now and then, Margorie would get angered, saying the Eureka Police Department used unnecessary action against her son.

Margorie said her son began his probation at the age of 10, when he brought a knife to school. Since then, she claims, her son was constantly being accused of violating probation for such issues as running away.

“He was in and out of foster care, in juvenile hall, group homes and they were sending him out of the county,” Margorie said. “The system failed him and this is the way his life’s got to end.

“This county detaches itself from displaced children. They say it takes a community to raise a child? Well, where’s the community?”

Prior to the shooting, Christopher was supposed to be staying with his godmother, Phenicia Martinez, per his probation terms, Nelson said.

When he came to her home, Nelson said, Christopher “lied” to Nelson, saying he was complying with the terms of his probation.

“He just wanted to see his family and his girlfriend,” Nelson said. “He was a beautiful boy.

“You don’t kill someone just for running. He was just a kid going through some hard times.”

An obviously distraught Martinez — who said she’d known Christopher since he was born and considered them best friends — said she last saw Christopher briefly last weekend.

“I hadn’t seen him in three weeks,” Martinez said. “He came by Saturday night because I was worried about him and he came by to say he was OK.

“I asked him if he was happy and he said no.”

Martinez said all she knew was “the good part” of Christopher.

“My nickname for him was ‘Cat Food’ because when he was younger he had a round face,” Martinez said. “If you added whiskers by his nose, he looked like a cat.

“He was a very smart boy and had been attending Jehovah’s Witness meetings with me and he was learning a lot of good things. He had a lot of potential; he was turning his life around.”

Christopher’s 12-year-old brother Lee Conoboy said he will remember his brother as loving and caring.

“He was there for his family when they needed it and he always gave me his last dollars,” Conoboy said, before bursting into tears. “I just can’t believe he’s gone.”