NEWS about family problem

Family argument turns deadly in Union City; man killed, stepson arrested
Posted: 09/15/2010 06:47:07 AM PDT
Updated: 09/15/2010 07:23:18 PM PDT

UNION CITY -- A family quarrel turned deadly when a 55-year-old man shot and killed his 57-year-old stepfather in the driveway of their home, police and relatives said.
Humberto Diaz, a well-liked construction worker, was slain about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday after he returned to his home in the 600 block of Whipple Road, said his stepdaughter Elizabeth Colon.
Diaz was shot twice with a small-caliber gun and died at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley where he was being treated for his wounds, said Lt. Kelly Musgrove, a spokesman for the police department.
Stepson Luis Rick Sanchez was arrested at the scene. He confessed to police who recorded his statement using their video cameras, Musgrove said.
Family members said the motive for the killing was sparked days earlier when Diaz demanded that Sanchez move out of his home because of a sexual relationship Sanchez was having with a relative, said Colon, who is the 52-year-old sister of the suspect.
"Everyone knew about it, but nobody talked about it because in Hispanic families; that is like airing your dirty laundry," she said Wednesday.
Diaz and Sanchez were both living in the home, along with other relatives, including two children who were home at the time of the shooting, but didn't witness it.
Diaz had been married to Sanchez's mother, Bonita, for more than 30 years and is credited with being a stabilizing figure in her family, Colon said.
"He was a good man, a great person" she said, fighting off tears. "He was good to our mother, everybody liked him."
The argument that led to the shooting apparently started Sunday when Diaz gave Sanchez an ultimatum to move out or he would tell people about family problems, Colon said.
It escalated on Tuesday when Diaz returned home from work, she said.
The disagreement became heated and then moved to the driveway where Sanchez shot Diaz twice in the torso, police said.
When officers arrived, they found the victim struggling to breathe, and the suspect standing nearby.
Police said Sanchez complied with all of the officers' orders and was arrested without incident.
Colon said Sanchez is one of five siblings, all of whom were raised in Union City's Decoto neighborhood. Colon's mother married Diaz a few years after their father died.
"I know it's weird to think that I am taking the side of a person who is not (a blood relative), but a person like (Sanchez) is someone I don't even want to be related to," she said.