SAN ANTONIO –
The family of Erica Espinoza who was killed in a 1992 drive-by shooting that targeted the wrong house is asking Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood to reopen her case.
“I feel he’s an aggressive prosecutor, an aggressive investigator and he looks for justice,” Tony Espinoza, Erica’s brother, said. “I believe Nico LaHood is the man who can do this for us.”
Espinoza and his 81-year-old mother, Margaret, said only one of four teenagers, Scott Navarro, was convicted.
He served less than five years of a 20-year sentence. Navarro wasn’t the alleged shooter.
Without the murder weapon and no corroborating evidence, they said the charges against the shooting suspect were dropped, and two girls were granted immunity but were too scared to testify.
Police said at the time that all of them were 16-year-old suspected gang members.
“They feel that they did get away with murder,” said Margaret Espinoza, one of the founding members of the San Antonio chapter of Parents of Murdered Children.
She said that’s why the family is asking the case be reopened even after all this time.
“I don’t want revenge. I just want justice,” she said.
But she said it may have to come from a higher power.
“I may not see it, but I know they will get their judgment day,” Margaret Espinoza said.
Tony Espinoza agrees with his mother that justice must be served.
“Those people need to come before a judge and be charged and punished for what they did,” he said.
Tony Espinoza said he’s also hoping one of the suspects has enough of a conscience to finally give police the answers they need.
He is also urging others to come forward.
“Release that burden that they have on their backs, knowing what happened,” Tony Espinoza said.
He said his sister left behind a 4-year-old son who was traumatized by her death.
The Espinozas said the crime devastated the entire family. They said the stress caused serious health problems and even brought about his parents’ divorce after 56 years.
Margaret Espinoza said they always leave an empty chair at family events for Erica.
“That’s how our lives are, empty,” she said.
Asked about re-opening the 1992 case, spokespeople for SAPD and the District Attorney's Office said they plan to respond once the needed research is done.