It has been nearly two years and a Pacoima family says their hope for justice is fading.
But what doesn’t fade is the haunting memory of Feb. 22, 2020.
A 26-year-old man named Omar Medinba was at an illegal cockfight, and he was winning. There was a huge crowd when shots rang out.
“His wife had gone to pick him up and she spoke with him on the phone and he told her he needed just a few more minutes,” Cindy Medina, sister of the victim, said.
Her brother, Omar, was attending an illegal cock fight in the 12700 block of Montague Street.
The 911 call came from his wife.
In the chilling audio, she can be heard crying, “I need an ambulance! My husband’s been shot!”
LAPD Valley Bureau Homicide Detective Edwin Ayala says more than 150 people were there. But when shots rang out, everyone scattered.
“The event happened all the way in the back,” Ayala said, noting the property was vast with an open air area set aside specifically for the rooster games. He was one of the first responding homicide detectives on scene.
“We did find several calibers so it’s possible there was more than one shooter,” he said.
Despite so many potential witnesses – and cellphone video of the fights from the victim’s own phone showing people in attendance – no one has come forward to help piece what happened together for police.
“People don’t come forward because it’s fear,” Medina’s sister said. “He was a big guy, probably looked tough. But his heart was so kind and loving.”
She says her brother was a horse groomer by trade, a devoted father of five kids all under the age of 10. She described him as loving, protective and willing to help anyone.
But the night he died, no one was there to help him.
“He loved to bet on the roosters,” his mother, Albina Medina said. She said she would often warn him of the dangerous people that could be involved. She says he’d brush it off, and tell her he wasn’t like that.
“The problem isn’t you. It’s them,” she would tell him.
LAPD is offering a $50,000 reward for information in the case. Anyone who could help piece together what happened is asked to call Valley Bureau Homicide at 818-644-8080.
