Local Good Samaritan shot and killed, community shares the pain

Family and friends remember the terrible day last year on May 30 th when 24-year-old Daniel Hernandez (aka Boogah) was shot and killed in Brawley.

Carlos Enrique Hernandez said, “I panicked. I cried. Every emotion came to me. I never had somebody that close pass away in my life.”

Llarissa Hernandez, a victim’s cousin, said she was told of the incident by another cousin.

“She runs to my house and I had just got out of the shower and she tells me that Boogah, my cousin, died, they shot him. I couldn’t believe it. I was hysterically crying,” Hernandez said.

Frank Romero, victim’s cousin, said, “I just left Costco and I was doing 90 [miles per hour] all the way to Brawley.”

They rushed to where Hernandez had been shot.

“I seen his body just sitting in the car not moving. I kept yelling his name. It was really hurtful, you know,” Carlos Hernandez said.

Rosario Martinez, victim’s cousin, had seen Hernandez just ten minutes prior. She and other family members were waiting for him.

“He wasn’t able to come home with his kids. He wasn’t able to come home with to mom, his dad, to me, his cousin, like a sister. He wasn’t able to come home,” Martinez said.

Joseph Zamudio, close friend of Hernandez, said, “I was texting him the whole day. I told him I was going to get out early that day so we could chill, we could hang out. And he said, for sure, just hit me up when you’re out.”

At the 2 nd Annual Hernandez fundraiser on Saturday in Brawley, the community is keeping his memory alive by reaching out to others, just like they said he would have done.

Adam Duran, event organizer, said, “You ask anybody to this day he left a good name in everybody’s mouth. He was just well-loved. He was a big father, a great cousin, a great son. A great member of this community.”

“He was a good friend, he was a cousin, he was a dad, he was a brother, he was an all-around person,” Romero said.

They said they want this nightmare or to turn it into something good for others, somehow.

“All we want is justice for our family. Just to keep praying for us because it’s really hard,” Llarissa Hernandez said.

The murder suspect, Eduardo Tolentino, is scheduled in court next month.