Family Blames DA for Failing to Protect Community After Teen's Murder

Family's Grief and Accusations

• 💔 The family of 13-year-old Oscar Hernandez believes his life could have been saved if the district attorney's office had acted sooner.
• 🗣️ Attorney Luis Curo expressed that reforms by District Attorney Nathan Hawkman are underwhelming, stating that it took the death of a child to implement changes.
• 📣 The family's sentiment is that both the DA and the previous administration "failed to protect the community from monsters like these."

Previous Allegations Against Soccer Coach

• ⚽ Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, the soccer coach accused of murdering Hernandez, had prior accusations of lewdness and assault by children in 2022 and the previous year.
• ⏳ Prosecutors did not seek an arrest warrant until March, just three days before Hernandez was murdered.
• 😥 Hernandez's mother expressed deep regret, stating she would have alerted everyone if she had known about the prior accusations.

DA's Explanation and Case Backlog

• ⏱️ DA Nathan Hawkman explained that developing evidence for charges takes time and does not happen overnight.
• 📊 An LA Times investigation revealed a backlog of approximately 10,000 uncharged cases, which Hawkman states has been reduced to about 8,000 in his five months in office.
• ✅ Hawkman assured that his office is working diligently to address all cases in a timely manner, acknowledging the need to bring justice to victims and their families.

Call for Accountability

• ⚖️ The family insists that Hawkman should accept responsibility for the delay, emphasizing the pain of knowing Garcia-Aquino could have been apprehended before the murder.
• 🗓️ Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aino is scheduled to appear in court on June 18th.