$150,000 reward for information leading to arrest of suspects in
killing of Ceci Rosa
Gilroy – Family members of a fallen Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy, killed while heading to work last month, are pleading for anyone with information to come forward and help give them some closure to her senseless death.
In a home on Ninth Street Tuesday evening, family members gathered around the television watching Saturday’s episode of America’s Most Wanted, remaining silent as Maria Cecilia Rosa’s smiling face was splashed across the screen.
“She didn’t like being called Maria or Cecilia,” her older brother Eduardo Yanez said. “She liked to be called Ceci.”
Rosa, 30, was killed about 6:15am, Tuesday, March 28, as she loaded her car for work in a well-kept, tight-knit neighborhood in Long Beach, police said.
She was staying at the home of her best friend – who was also a Sheriff’s deputy – at the time.
Her death initially appeared as though it was an accident, that her gun misfired as she placed the equipment in her car. But after ballistics tests were performed, revealing a different caliber gun was used, Long Beach Police listed Rosa’s death as a homicide, police said.
Long Beach Police are searching for two male suspects, caught on a bank videotape, riding bikes in the neighborhood very close to the scene, just minutes before the crime.
Long Beach Public Information Officer Jackie Bezart papered surrounding neighborhoods with information about the suspects and the reward.
“We’re just hoping that it will jog someone’s memory,” she said. “Often times people think that to be a witness you have to see something … We really are trying to make a plea to the public. There’s somebody out there who knows something, who saw something.”
Police are hoping individuals will come forward with information they thought was insignificant at the time – and soon.
“No matter how minute the situation or circumstances, call,” Bezart said. “I know we’ve been working around the clock. The more time passes, people may forget things. It seems like a needle in the haystack in the beginning, but it’s like peeling an onion – eventually we’ll get to the center. We are absolutely committed to finding out who committed this crime.”
Born in Sonora, Mexico, Rosa was the youngest of six children.
An orphan by age 11, she was raised by her older brothers and sisters after their parents died. Some of her siblings moved to southern California, others moved north. By age 16, she supported herself financially and set high standards for her future.
“She set a lot of goals for herself and she met them,” her sister-in-law Rosalie Yanez said.
Rosa moved to Gilroy for a few years during high school where she lived with Eduardo’s family and attended Gilroy High School, graduating in 1993.
Despite her petite frame, Rosa was tough and spunky, Rosalie recalled with a smile.
“She was not the type of person who was easily intimidated,” she said.
For the past six years she worked as a Sheriff’s deputy in a more administrative role and was just weeks away from working patrol.
“She wanted to do something to help people,” Rosalie said. “She was just so close to go out on patrol. She was just so excited for that. That was one of her goals – to make a difference.”
A $150,000 reward is being offered for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the suspects responsible for her death.
“It was just cruel. It’s been very devastating. We never will have closure,” Rosalie said. “We want justice for her.”
Police would not confirm where the shooter was standing. However, family members say she was shot in the back.
“Nobody deserves that,” she said. “It’s very cowardly.”
Eduardo feels guilty about the shooting, as if somehow he could have protected her hundreds of miles away.
She never wore her uniform to her sister’s home in Los Angeles because she never wanted to put her family in danger, Eduardo said. But family members say she was never afraid of being a police officer herself.
More than 3,000 mourners showed up for funeral services in Long Beach over the weekend.
“Her life meant something to everyone out there,” said family member Jessica Sustaita. “You get a showing like that, you must have touched someone. She is somebody that you never will forget.”
Family members have established a memorial fund that will help pay for the training and education of future law enforcement agents.
“These people are civil servants,” she said. “They are there for us. These people should be respected every day.”
To donate: Ceci’s Memorial Fund, account number 2093330971 at any Wells Fargo branch.
Anyone with information about the shooting may call Long Beach police at (562) 570-7244.
