The teenager killed in the shooting incident in Santa Ana is one of the many cases that Gov. Gavin Newsom is hoping to escape it with the newly announced $50,000 prize pool.
It’s been nearly seven years since Victoria Barrios, 18, was shot and killed, and her killing has remained a household name in the city. The billboard campaign featured Barrios wearing a green cap and coat with the caption, “Who killed my daughter?”
Eva Barrios, Victoria’s mother, has not been able to keep the billboards in recent years, but she hopes that the state reward will draw renewed attention to the case.
“I hope that people not only see the value of the awards, but connect with their personality,” she said. “I hope they realize that my daughter’s case has not been solved and that those involved in her murder are still there.”
Santa Ana police detectives do not believe Victoria Barrios was the target of a gang-related shooting on Aug. 30, 2019.
Barrios, who was not a gang member, was walking with two friends when he was shot in the middle of the night near 500 E. Pine Street in Santa Ana. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
A young boy was also injured.
Police obtained surveillance video of the shooting, which showed gunfire in a red four-door Chevrolet. But the trail has gone cold over the years.
Newsom initially offered a $50,000 reward in Barrios’ case two years ago. The Santa Ana Police Department has offered its own reward in that amount for information leading to the arrest and conviction of an unsolved crime.
“All families deserve answers and justice,” Newsom said in a statement Friday. “These awards send a message that every case matters, every victim matters and that we are all working to increase accountability.”
Under state law, Santa Ana police have asked Newsom to issue a reward in Barrios’ case, as the investigation has run out of leads.
In addition to Barrios, Newsom added $50,000 rewards for unsolved murders across the country, 10 of them in Southern California.
These include the stabbing of Alan Schwalbe, 61, at his Costa Mesa home, which has been under investigation since 1993. Also worthy of a reward is information about the death of Iran Moreno, 13, who was killed after a bullet hit him through his bedroom window in Pasadena in 2021.
Several unsolved Southern California cases are being investigated in San Diego County, including the 2021 slaying of Corneilius Brown in La Mesa; Lamontee Stevenson in San Diego in 2019; Arthur Jordan in San Diego in 2018; and Gregory Ruffin in San Diego in 2019.
The award was given for information about Teresa Madrigal, a Riverside County resident whose body was found in San Diego County after she disappeared on a shopping trip in 1999.
Eric Velasquez, 21, of Santa Paula, who was shot and killed in 1994; and 16-year-old Tioni Theus, whose body was found on the 110 Freeway in South Los Angeles in 2022, are among the other charges of embezzlement.
Meanwhile, Eva Barrios continues to highlight her daughter’s story on social media. He remembers her as a ‘loving, kind and compassionate young woman.
The lead investigator on the case confirmed that calls continue to come in and there have been recent updates, but details are limited.
“People care,” she said. “I hope that someone will be arrested before the seventh anniversary of my daughter’s murder.
