Jordan Hickey’s mother, brother, girlfriend and other relatives got to say what they have waited four years to say to his convicted killers at their April 24 sentencing.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeff Fraser gave all seven people plenty of time to vent and speak to the gunman Humberto “Beto” Galvez, 22, and the getaway driver, Juan Ignacio Gomez, 24, before he sentenced them to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Gomez was convicted March 25 by a jury of first-degree murder of Hickey, 21, who was shot three times by a shotgun-wielding Galvez, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on April 2 to avoid a death penalty trial.
Gomez was convicted of the special circumstance of murder during a drive-by shooting in the April 29, 2011, slaying as Hickey was pushing his bicycle uphill on the sidewalk at 12:35 a.m. in the 2800 block of Grove Street in National City. Galvez pleaded guilty to the special circumstance of lying in wait.
Jordan’s mother, Jeannine Hickey, her other son Justin and Jordan’s girlfriend Valeria, and others held several urns containing the victim’s ashes as they spoke. The National City family lashed out angrily, and alternatively spoke of their sorrow.
“My son was the most innocent person I ever met,” said Jeannine Hickey. “Not a day goes that I don’t want him back.”
She spoke of how her son disliked the sound of fireworks and she added it was painful “to know that gunshot was the last thing my son heard.”
“I will never forgive either one of you! Ever!” said Jeannine Hickey loudly.
Justin Hickey started off by saying he had waited four years to say something to his brother’s killers. He put his words in a rap song which he recited without music.
Jordan’s girlfriend Valeria described him as “the center of my universe” and lamented how the pair “left him for dead like an animal.”
“Both Galvez and Gomez went hunting for the thrill,” said Stephanie, a cousin. “Was this the curtain call you wanted? Did you get the status you wanted?”
Both men, wearing green jail uniforms, stared straight ahead and said nothing during the hour and 45 minute sentencing. They are cousins and once lived in the same Logan Avenue house.
Deputy District Attorney David Grapilon had argued the pair was looking for someone to shoot and Hickey was chosen at random on a dimly lit street. Galvez and Gomez were gang members, though the judge barred the use of the association in court.
Fraser fined them both $10,294 and ordered them to pay $4,464 in restitution. A percentage of any money placed on their prison accounts will go toward restitution and fines, and likewise for any prison earnings.
Galvez received a 25 years to life consecutive term to his sentence for the personal use of a gun in a homicide. Gomez received one year consecutively to his term.
Gomez’s attorney, Ricardo Garcia, unsuccessfully sought a new trial and asked Fraser to reduce the verdict to second-degree murder which he said showed “more clearly and accurately” what his client’s role was.
“It’s not a second-degree murder. It’s a first-degree murder. It was premeditated,” ruled Fraser, who later described both men as “the worst of the worst.”
The pair told three people of their involvement including Rodney Acosta, 21, who was arrested for carjacking. Acosta relayed to sheriff’s detectives what he was told and later wore a wire and talked with both men separately.
Acosta’s carjacking case ended in probation but, ironically, he is serving a 14-year prison term for manslaughter involving the 2013 death of Luis Espinoza, 27, of Chula Vista, whom his brother had shot in July 2012. His brother is serving a 27-year sentence.
Afterward Jeannine Hickey was asked by a television reporter if she felt justice was done and also if she experienced closure.
“There’s no justice for Jordan. Justice for Jordan would be having him here,” replied Jeannine Hickey. “There’s no closure because Jordan’s not here. There is never closure. Nothing is closed for my family because the pain is always there.”
The mother also wanted others to be mindful of the trend of constantly wearing headphones to hear music. It makes it difficult to hear traffic sounds or other noises around you. It didn’t play a role in her son’s death, but she said she thought he was listening to music as he walked up that hill.
Fraser noted for the record that both men had credit for serving 1,124 days in jail since their March 2012 arrests. It’s a moot figure since it won’t reduce their life without parole terms.
