Two Gilroy residents were murdered within a week of each other in cases unrelated save for the similar histories of prior criminal behavior, and the horror of the details.
On June 26, Gilroy resident Anthony Fernandez-Rodriguez, age 10, was beaten to death in Phoenix. His father, Raul Gonzales, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, sexual assault, and child abuse.
He reportedly told police that he went “a little overboard” in disciplining his son for not turning off the TV when told to do so.
Gonzales, who had a history of domestic violence, had just served a prison sentence for auto theft and weapons violations.
On July 2, Rogelio “Roy” Garcia Jr. bashed in the head of his erstwhile friend Jeff Garner with a metal pipe.
The story is so sordid I do not care to recapitulate it. Any reader fascinated by dirt is invited to read the two Dispatch stories online at www.gilroydispatch.com. Search for Garner murder.
There seem to be no morals to be drawn from these two stories beyond the trite: Mamma, don’t let your baby go out of state for an unsupervised visit with his fresh-out-of-prison father who has a history of domestic violence. Mamma, don’t let your thirteen-year-old daughter hang out with 23-year-old men. (They are not interested in her as a friend.)
Girls, don’t have relationships with guys who hit you. Kids, don’t drink. People, don’t do drugs. Don’t steal. Don’t murder.
Duh.
My initial reaction to these stories was along the lines of: “How horrible! How stupid!” closely followed by, “That could never happen to me… or anyone I know.” Sober reflection gave rise to second thoughts. I have known and do know people enmeshed in the crime and drug culture: a few relatives, some friends of my children, some children of my friends.
Some have come out of it. Some are still prodigal. Some are teetering on the brink. Realistically, no family is immune. Children, in particular, think that they are invulnerable, and take risks without actually comprehending the consequences.
My third thought is that our society and our judicial system are both far too tolerant of stupid, petty, criminal lifestyles.
Getting thirteen-year-old girls drunk, statutory rape, auto theft, domestic violence, drug use, hit and run, uncontrolled pit bulls, throwing chairs through windows, knife threats: we collectively shrug.
Then one of the parties gets his head beaten in, and we cannot believe it, because he was such a nice guy.
Jeff Garner probably was a nice guy. But the sheer waste of lives spent on “chilling,” drinking, drugs, petty crime, and casual sex is just as bad as these appalling murders.
A letter to the editor from Steve Evans of Middleton Wisconsin, printed July, perplexes me. Mr. Evans takes exception to the Dispatch editorial entitled “More Teeth needed for Pit Bull Ordinance.”
Mr. Evans says we should punish the deed, not the breed – a mantra of pit bull owners. He says we should not ban pit bulls or “make good responsible dog owners the scapegoat.” He says we should go after dogs that do damage, and leave good responsible citizens alone.
Two things perplex me: first, why and how is someone in Middleton, Wisconsin reading a Gilroy Dispatch editorial? Don’t they have a Middleton Monitor, or some such thing, to focus their attention on?
Secondly, the editorial did not call for a ban on pit bulls.
As a matter of fact, the recommendations were carefully crafted to allow responsible owners to keep their dogs, and to go after dogs who maul people, livestock, or other dogs, and the irresponsible and sometimes criminal owners who neglect, abuse, and misuse them. I would have thought that Mr. Evans would have entirely approved, if he is indeed a responsible dog owner.
So why does Mr. Evans respond in that odd way? Did he not actually read the editorial? Or did he read it with zero comprehension?
I hope he responds, because I am always curious about the motives of people who write in from out-of-town, sometimes from out-of-state. How did he find us? Why does he care? And can he read? I want to know.
