Blog Archives
Justice for Ishmael
Another family needs your help, please get the word out by copying and sharing this post. It has been six agonizing months since the Escalante family lost their beloved Ishmael who has been described by many as loyal, honest, generous, special and loved.
The family has organized an event at the intersection of ‘G’ Street and Olive Avenue in Merced, CA on June 20, 2015, from 4:00pm – 8:00pm. Supporters of the #JusticeForIshmael initiative will be rallying for justice and passing out flyers, a bake sale has also been organized to help fund #JusticeForIshmael. A march to raise awareness of this unsolved murder will begin at 6:45pm and all concerned citizens are invited to attend.
The city of Merced has seen a recent spike in the number of homicides this year with most of the victims being young people in their teens and early twenties.
However, this city with a population of over 81,000 people, employs a police department with less than 30 sworn officers. It is nearly impossible for them to keep up with the needs of such a growing city. The public’s help is needed more than ever; we must be the eyes and ears of our communities, and we must work together with local law enforcement to push forward the wheels of justice.
For more information on how you can help, please contact site administrator, Michelle Thompson at ContactUs or (559) 681-1185.
#JusticeForIshmael
The Journey to Justice
Today marks the end of one journey and the start of another for our family. Today Manuel Ray Villarreal was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his part in the stabbing death of Marcus Lynn Snowden. Although this sentence provides some relief we are still in a period of healing and will be for quite some time. We hope we have done the memory of Marcus justice, we hope we have provided everyone with some insight of how violence effects everyone because when lives are taken in such a violent matter, everyone suffers and everyone is a victim.
We will continue on the mission we have set forth and will now offer peer support to families who are dealing with the tragedy of losing loved ones to violence. If anyone would like to join us please feel free to message our page or fill out the contact form on our website; www.togetheragainstviolence.com
We also want to thank the all the first responders for the work they do every day, the Fresno County Sherriff’s Office, the Fresno County Office of the District Attorney, Kerman Police Department, Victim Witness Services, Central Valley Crime Stoppers and our family and community for all their love and support.
We also wanted to share a poem written by Marcus’ sister, Kendra Snowden. Her poem sums up a lot with only a few words and we thank her for allowing us to share it with you.
Two Young to Fall
Two people gone
One alive one dead
But not one got ahead
One lifeless
One soulless
Both young and intellectually unfed
The fight that ended both lives so they said
War against another all in vain
Now there are only chains
Chains on the soulless divided
Chains on the lifeless never to be reunited
Diversity a beauty and a beast
The separation between you and me
Like the serpent between God, Adam and Eve
Who are we?
Both the hearts stained blue
So sad alone and looking for the truth
Do not fear for our time should soon be here
Rise and fall
We do it all
One in the same so who’s to blame?
~ Kendra Snowden
JuStiCe fOr d-Bo!
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- Raising Awareness
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- Hope is on the Horizon
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- Friends Forever – Luv You Big Bro!
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- United
Over the course of three weeks, nearly 1500 fliers were posted up around the town of Kerman, CA and distributed to local businesses and organizations in an effort to raise awareness about the case being unsolved. We also felt it necessary to try to reach out to individuals who may have had information about the case and give them a push in the direction of law enforcement. We pledged to ourselves that we would not rest until there was a break in the case; we were and still are in “Fight Mode!”
This event took place on Dec 11, 2011:
Friends Forever
Together Against Violence wants JUSTICE for Lynn D-bo Snowden, we will be passing out flyers tomorrow urging potential witnesses to contact the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. If you would like to help, please meet us at 1:00pm at the old Rite Aid parking lot off of Hwy 180 and Madera Ave in Kerman. We need to bring awareness to the fact that no one has been arrested for this crime. Any help would be greatly appreciated; we encourage you to pass the word along to all your friends. We will also be selling D-bo bracelets for $1 for those of you wanting to pay tribute to him. If you have any questions feel free to comment or send us a message.
Thank you to everyone for doing such an awesome job today!!! The Justice for D-bo rally was a success; it was great to see D-bo’s friends and family showing their support and love for D-bo. We also wanted to give a big thanks to Valley Food Super Center in Kerman for letting us post up in their parking lot today.
Together Against Violence 