$10K Reward Offered To Help Find Killer Of 23-Year-Old Long Beach Father Of 3
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A Long Beach family is hoping the offer of a $10,000 reward will lead to the killer of a 23-year-old father of three from last November.
Police are trying to track down the gunman who fatally shot Jose Luis Cruz in the head.
Detectives say the murder appeared to be a random attack. But Cruz' family believes the murder might have been racially-motivated.
The devastated family talked Wednesday to KCAL9's Stacey Butler in a story only on CBS2 and KCAL9.
Cruz' girlfriend, Argelia Castro, knows the reward won't bring Jose back, but she wants to see justice for the father of her three children.
"It's not bringing him back, but it's kind of a comfort that we will feel if we ever find out who did this," says Castro. "They didn't just kill him. They killed the entire family."
Last November, Cruz left the pawn shop where he worked to deliver a keyboard to the post office.
He never made it.
Police said as Cruz came to a stop on a North Long Beach street, a man jumped out of another car and shot him in the head for no known reason.
Cruz's mother, Anna Rosa Cruz, said, "My son was pronounced brain dead."
The family insists Cruz had no gang ties and was never in trouble with the law.
His sister, Janell, said, "He was never into any drugs. Always making people laugh. Very family oriented. We were always together. I just feel it was an actor of racism, against Hispanics."
Cruz's mother is grateful the County Board of Supervisors approved the reward money on Tuesday.
Says Cruz's mother, "I want justice. I want my voice to be heard. One day, hopefully soon, that person they will catch him or somebody will talk."
If you know anything about this murder, you're asked to call Long Beach Police.
