Although the whole Stop Snitch’n campaign (complete with video, shirts and a song) was considered a fad, the actions behind such a message were very real. Here on the West coast, we have our own brand of a Stop Snitch’n campaign that include setting folks on fire.
Sphere: Related ContentFiery death sent a message
By Jill Leovy, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
It was among the most brutal Southland homicides in recent memory: On a sunny Sunday afternoon last fall, two men jumped out of an SUV and set Marcial Sanchez on fire, in full view of a crowd on Cesar Chavez Boulevard in East Los Angeles.
The 52-year-old factory worker was engulfed in flames and burned over 70% of his body. He died hours later at a hospital.
No one who saw Sanchez’s killing reported it to police. The hush was so complete that for months the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department considered the case a possible suicide.
The slaying, like so many drive-by and walk-up shootings, was committed in a brazen, conspicuous way precisely because it was designed to stop witnesses from coming forward, authorities said.
“They definitely have people terrified,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Shawn McCarthy.
The episode stands out as an especially gruesome example of the massive problem of witness intimidation. Over and over in Los Angeles County, killers commit such daylight shootings to cement their control over the streets.
“They show the average citizen that they [the killers] can do things and get away with it,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Al Grotefund. (more…)
