A teenager killed in a drive-by shooting in Santa Ana is one of several cases Gov. Gavin Newsom is hoping to crack with a newly announced slate of $50,000 rewards.
It’s been almost seven years since Victoria Barrios, 18, was shot and killed, and her slaying has maintained a high profile in the city. A billboard campaign depicted Barrios in a blue cap and gown with the caption, “Who killed my daughter?”
Eva Barrios, Victoria’s mother, hasn’t been able to afford to keep the billboards up in recent years, but hopes the state reward draws renewed attention to the case.
“I am hopeful that people don’t just see the reward amount, but get in touch with their humanity,” she said. “I hope they realize that my daughter’s case is still unsolved and those responsible for her murder are still out there.”
Santa Ana police detectives don’t believe that Victoria Barrios was the intended target of a suspected gang-related shooting on Aug. 30, 2019.
Barrios, who was not a gang member, was walking with two friends when she was struck in the upper torso by gunfire just after midnight near 500 E. Pine Street in Santa Ana. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
A teenage boy was also injured.
Police recovered video surveillance of the shooting, which showed gunfire erupting from a red four-door Chevrolet. But the trail has grown cold over the years.
Newsom first offered a $50,000 reward in the Barrios case two years ago. The Santa Ana Police Department has offered its own reward in that amount for information leading to arrests and convictions in the unsolved crime.
“Every family deserves answers and justice,” Newsom said in a Friday statement. “These rewards send a message that every case matters, every victim matters and that we are all working towards increased accountability.”
Under state law, Santa Ana police asked Newsom to issue the reward for the Barrios case, as investigative leads have been exhausted.
In addition to Barrios, Newsom has extended $50,000 rewards for several unsolved murders throughout the state, 10 of them in Southern California.
Those include the fatal stabbing of Alan Schwalbe, 61, in his Costa Mesa home, which has remained under investigation since 1993. Also eligible for reward is information on the death of Iran Moreno, 13, who was killed after a stray bullet struck him through the bedroom window of his Pasadena home in 2021.
Several of the unsolved Southern California cases are being investigated in San Diego County, including the fatal shooting deaths of Corneilius Brown in La Mesa in 2021; Lamontee Stevenson in San Diego in 2019; Arthur Jordan in San Diego in 2018; and Gregory Ruffin in San Diego in 2019.
A reward has also been offered for information in the case of Teresa Madrigal, a Riverside County resident whose body was recovered in San Diego County after she disappeared during a 1999 shopping trip.
Eric Velasquez, 21, of Santa Paula, who was fatally shot in 1994; and Tioni Theus, 16, whose body was recovered along the 110 Freeway in South Los Angeles in 2022, round out the rest of the reward cases.
In the meantime, Eva Barrios continues to highlight her daughter’s story through social media. She remembers her as a “loving, kind and compassionate young lady.”
The lead detective on the case has assured her that calls continue to come in and there have been recent updates, but details are limited.
“People do care,” she said. “I’m hopeful there can be an arrest before the seven-year anniversary of my daughter’s murder. It’s just a matter of time.”
The post A teenager was slain in a Santa Ana drive-by. Could a reward help find her killer? appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
