A Nigerian man, Edward Nwajagu, shot in United States four years ago, because he is black, lay on life support with a bullet in his skull Friday as the shooter was sentenced to 107 years to life in prison.
Nwajagu’s wife and brother in Nigeria want to visit him but have been unable to enter the United States, said cousin Clement Onwuka, who spoke weekend.
“His life had been shattered, his ability to make a living, his ability to enjoy life, ended the day he was shot,” Onwuka told the court softly at the sentencing Friday.
Onwuka, who lives in Oklahoma, visited his cousin in the hospital there Wednesday.
“The whole family depended on Edward,” he said.
Nwajagu immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. In August 2005, he came to Southern California for a conference about helping underprivileged Nigerians and organizing a medical mission, said Charles Onunkwo, who organized the event
“He’s barely clinging to life,” Onunkwo said. “He’s no longer coming back to be a useful member of society.”
A group from the conference came to Riverside to visit a friend and stopped for gas at the Chevron station at University and Victoria avenues.
The car pulled out of the gas station and was hit by bullets.
Nwajagu opened the back door to check the damage and was hit in the head.
As the driver pulled away, Nwajagu fell out of the car. Lying on University Avenue in a white embroidered caftan, blood ran out of his ears and mouth.
He has been on life support since. The family paid to have him moved from a Riverside hospital to one near his home in Oklahoma City, believing it would be more familiar for him, Onwuka said.
Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco used the crime as a reason for requesting an injunction to crack down on the East Side Rivas in 2007. The predominantly Latino gang has a history of attacking black people and referring to it as “snail hunting” in Riverside’s Eastside neighborhood, according to court documents.
A Riverside County jury convicted David Anthony Rodriguez, 23, in March of attempted murder to promote a gang and cause a hate crime, as well as related felonies.
Charles Onunkwo, who had organized the event that brought Edward Nwajagu to Southern California, wiped tears from his eyes as he narrated the story.
The driver, Jose Enrique Martinez, 31, pleaded guilty to being an accessory and was sentenced in April to time served of one year and four months.
On Friday, before Rodriguez was sentenced, his aunt Margo Alvarez cried as she told Judge Jean Pfeiffer Leonard that her nephew was innocent.
“He’s a good man, a good nephew and a good father,” she said.
Rodriguez’s attorney, Samuel Long, requested that his client be allowed to hug his 4-year-old daughter who has known her father only through glass booths while visiting him in jail. Leonard left the decision to deputies, who did not allow the hug.
“I love you, Daddy,” the little girl said as she was carried out.
He blew her a kiss.
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