Ricardo Bautista, the brother of murder victim Luis Bautista,
has told Morgan Hill police Cpl. Mindy Zen that he was emotional
and crying after hearing the guilty first-degree murder verdict
handed down Tuesday against Anthony Frausto.
Morgan Hill – Ricardo Bautista, the brother of murder victim Luis Bautista, has told Morgan Hill police Cpl. Mindy Zen that he was emotional and crying after hearing the guilty first-degree murder verdict handed down Tuesday against Anthony Frausto.
Frausto, 20, of Morgan Hill, was convicted of first-degree murder with a gang enhancement after a trial that lasted about a week. Frausto admitted shooting Luis Bautista, 19, of Gilroy, just after 9pm Sept. 30, 2005.
Ricardo, who spoke to Zen after declining to give an interview to the Morgan Hill Times for fear of gang retaliation, has also told Zen his parents had come from Mexico for a few days because of the case concerned that law enforcement would not give the case the attention it deserved.
“He said he would like to thank the Morgan Hill Police Department and the jury,” Zen said. “He is pleased with the verdict, but he did lose his brother, and they all miss him. Gangs and gang violence are inexcusable, he said, and he hopes that everyone who has ever been affiliated with gangs has learned a lesson from the loss of his brother.”
Zen, a detective with the Morgan Hill Police Department for more than two years, hopes people will take Bautista’s message to heart. Prosecution and defense attorney agreed to qualify Zen as a gang expert during the trial.
“I think it’s important for the community to realize that gangs and gang activities do not pay,” she said. “They only result in death and incarceration. We all mean so much more than that. We have to find ways to keep kids from getting involved in that lifestyle.”
One of the best ways to do that is to be aware of what is going on in a child’s life, Zen said. She said parents need to take an active role in their children’s lives, which can be difficult with the busy schedules many families have.
However, the busy schedules can also serve a purpose, she added.
“Get children involved in sports, in school activities, community activities,” she said. “These kinds of things instill a sense of pride, a sense of self as well as leaving little time for just hanging out.”
Educating not only children but the community about gangs also makes a difference, Zen said, but there has to be education at the schools. She said she and other officers have worked with the Morgan Hill Unified School District to provide gang education but the programs have been focused at the secondary level.
