'Never have her back'
Lopez, Meredith
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 Linda Mcconnell © News The oldest and youngest brothers of Sylvia Santillan, from left, Jaime Santillan, 24, and Alfredo Santillan, 13, mourn their sister, who was an innocent bystander killed Sunday evening in what police believe to be a gang-related shooting. Sylvia Santillan was the mother of two young children. |
Gang violence eyed in young mother's death in Greeley
By Bianca Prieto, Rocky Mountain
News
September 6, 2006
GREELEY - Rebecca Santillan was relaxing in the park
with her husband and sister-in-law Sunday, when the peaceful evening exploded in
gunfire.
Seconds later, when the shooting stopped, she turned around and saw her
18-year-old sister-in-law, Sylvia, lying on the ground, unconscious and bloody.
A bullet had pierced her head.
Sylvia Santillan's white sweater was soon soaked in blood, which pooled on
the black pavement where she fell.
Police have been told she was an innocent woman caught in a gang shooting at
Island Grove Regional Park.
"Someone said there was a gun" and the crowd scattered, Rebecca Santillan
said Tuesday.
"I thought she was right behind me."
Greeley police arrested four people in connection with the fatal shooting
early Tuesday.
Just minutes before the gunfire erupted, Rebecca, 19, watched as Sylvia
proudly showed a new family portrait of herself and her two children to a group
of friends gathered at the park.
The picture of the smiling young mother sitting between 2-year-old Leandra
and 10-month-old Daniel will be the last picture of the small family.
Police and family members say that Sylvia was not a gang member, though other
people who were standing nearby in the park are suspected gang members.
The sixth of eight children, Sylvia is said to have been the most outgoing
member of the family.
She graduated last year from the high school diploma program at Aims
Community College in Greeley.
"She was independent and knew what she wanted," Rebecca said. "She'd always
figure out a way to get it."
About eight months ago, she and her children moved out of the family's modest
ranch-style home in southeast Greeley and into a condo across town.
It was tough for them to see her leave home, but they were proud that she was
able to do it, said her brother, Jaime Santillan, 24.
Sylvia excelled at her job at Wendy's, where she worked the drive-through,
and loved what she did. She recently bought a 2005 Honda Pilot and tinted the
windows.
"I remember she was driving me somewhere and she told me it would be $10 for
gas, and I told her that was expensive," Jaime said, smiling at the memory. "She
told me, 'I know - I'm expensive.' "
On Tuesday afternoon, Sylvia's daughter, Leandra, her hair in pigtails, ran
around in the front yard, circling her grandfather, aunt and uncles.
The two young children will most likely be raised by someone in their
immediate family, Rebecca said.
Sylvia died late Sunday night, hours after she was taken to North Colorado
Medical Center.
"It's sad that they could take an innocent life away," Rebecca said. "Her
kids will grow up without a mom. They (the suspects) can live day-by-day, but
we'll never have her back."
Violence in Greeley
• January-August 2004: Albert Rios Sr. and his son, Albert Rios
Jr., are killed within nine months of each other in gang-related incidents.
• Sept. 10, 2004: Joshua Gomez, 19, is shot to death on his
porch in a drive-by shooting believed to be gang-related.
• Dec. 30, 2004: James Goslin, 34, is shot and killed by two
men outside his home. The suspects have gang ties.
• May 31, 2006: Isaac "Shotgun" Benavidez is sentenced to 40
years for the 2004 killing of Adam Perez in a gang-related shooting.
• Aug. 8, 2006: Oswaldo Delacruz, 17, is sentenced to six years
in prison for shooting a college student in the face in an August 2005
gang-related attack.Source: Greeley Tribune,
Greeley Police
How to help
• A memorial fund has been set up by the Santillan family to help with
Sylvia's funeral expenses and to help raise her two children:
Sylvia Adela Santillan Memorial Fund c/o New Frontier Bank 2425 35th
Avenue Greeley, CO 80634
Copyright 2006, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.
