When rumors spread Sunday night that Eric Zamarripa had been gunned down at his Echo Park home, there was shock, anguish as well as relief. This was, after all, a man considered by many to be one of the leaders of the Echo Park gang who had terrorized the neighborhood for years and threw rowdy parties at his home on Baxter Street. But this being Echo Park, where ExP gang members and hangers-on are also neighbors who attend PTA meetings and exchange polite greetings as you pump gas, many of the same residents who feared and loathed 38-year-old Zamarripa also knew another side of him. The other Zamarripa was a hard-working carpet installer and devoted father and husband who restored old cars and hosted hours-long Fourth of July fireworks displays that rivaled those at Dodger Stadium."He was part of what I called the 'carpet mafia,'" said one Echo Park resident who knew Zamarripa since he was a young man. "I'm sure he was no angel. But at the same time he was a family man and took care of a whole group of people."
Other Echo Park neighbors and police officers have less kind words for Zamarripa, whose home on Monday morning was hidden behind giant SUVs, trailers and a punching bag in the front yard. Retired LAPD officer Joe Writer considered Zamarripa one of his major problems w
hen he was Echo Park's senior lead officer from the 1986 to 1999."He was smart and he was conniving and he was sinister," said Writer. "Eric was instrumental in knowing the happenings and the goings of the Echo Park gang. Eric, in my mind, was a major role player."
But even Writer acknowledged that Zamarripa had another side and had the respect of many neighbors.
"I would encounter Eric at community meetings as he assimilated into the community as a father," said Writer. "We were respectful of each others' position. If I needed word to get out to the gang that things needed to cool down, could I go talk to Eric? Yes, I could and I did. At least he would listen to me."
The man who had "Echo Park" tattooed across his stomach would also wave and greet neighbors as they passed by his home and took the car keys away from a house guest who had too much drink. He restored and drove his grandfather's Model A down Sunset Boulevard during the Echo Park holiday parade - but not last December because he was in prison. Zamarripa was still with the same woman who he was sweet on 25 years ago when their names were written into a freshly poured section of sidewalk. The names are still there in front of Elysian Park Elementary School down the street from their home:
Eric
Lety
84
"He was one of these people who was trying to have it both ways," said one resident, who recalls when Zamarripa said he wished kids would to stop tagging during a neighborhood clean up. "Frankly he just made my skin crawl."
Will the leafy intersection of Echo Park Avenue and Baxter Street, now home to a designer coffee house and a gateway to the hills of Elysian Heights, grow more quiet without Zamarripa around? One nearby resident said the neighborhood had been noticeably quiet and more livable when he was in jail last year. Long, term, she worries.
"I'm holding my breath. Part of me wants to think that things are going to calm down without this target close by. That we can relax a bit. But another part of me says that Eric was only part of the problem."
* Update @ 11:14 am: The Sunday afternoon shooting of three men, including Zamarripa, was "motivated by some sort of gang feud" and not a random act of violence, LAPD spokeswoman Ana Aguirre said this morning. The suspect arrested in the shooting spree, Andrew Upshaw, is expected to be arraigned Wednesday.
Police officials will discuss the shootings Thursday night at a meeting of the Echo Park Improvement Assn.
Related links:
Suspected gang member arrested in three Sunday shootings. LA Times
EP Shootings. Chicken Corner
Bottom photo from Echo Park Flickr Group
74 comments:
i believe that the community has no idea about the type of person that eric was. you people that moved into this neigborhood recently and have tried to gentrify echo park point the finger at this man and proclaim evil. you have no clue of the love and respect this man had for the people of this neighborhood. and yet you post this question. do you have no respect for the family. you should be ashamed of yourself. i am deeply hurt that he is gone !!!! and it sickens me to hear you yuppies talking about this like its better that he is gone. i would personally feel better if you were the ones gone.
Great story! Thanks so much.
I have lived in Echo Park for forty years. I feel safer now that this man dead. He was responsible for much sadness and fear. He was not a good man. God will punish him.
Thank you for posting a well-balanced story on the shooting victim.
Live and die by the sword. I'm he sure was a decent man but what he represented is just terribly bad for the community. Chollos are like the Narcos of Mexico, Muslim fanatics or Zionists Occupiers. They all give their people a bad name and impede progress and peace and promote violence and stereotypes. Same goes for chollos and the Chicanos of LA. What I want to know is what gang was Andrew Upshaw from? I know the Crazys and EP have been in a ominous tagging war of late. My heart goes out to Eric's family but also to all the families of all those EP has and all the Chollos gangsters have killed over the years.
Good, one less loser/thug to worry about......
It's interesting. 10 years ago I met a woman who had lived in the same Echo Park apartment for 50 years. She was saddened by the state of the neighborhood, the gang problem, and talked a lot about when she felt safe to walk up and down her street which incidentally was then all Italian immigrants. This should never be a conversation framed by us vs them, race, socio-economics, gentrification, yuppies, etc. This should be about making our streets safe, loving our community and neighbors, and giving our children options in the world. That is how one creates a neighborhood built on love and respect.
The lives of people are not always so easy to define in black and white terms. Some great men have great flaws...
I'm sure this man loved his family and his neighborhood and to celebrate his death as "another thug gone" is just wrong.
In order for the relationship between the newcomers and the mainstays to work is for each group to communicate with each other. I believe that both parties want the same end result: a safe, healthy, vital community. Its just a shame that all anyone seems interested in is name calling and finger pointing.
People who engage in criminal, street-level activity DO NOT want a safe, healthy and vital community.
If you want to be a criminal AND have a safe community, work in a skyscraper and do systemic, white-collar "crime."
Or, quit being a gangster.
The fact that he had all these great qualities and yet chose the gang life is just an example of someone WASTING their life.
If your posing a question, then my answer is sad. I'm also saddened by the ignorance of some your comments. Im sure some of you yuppies consider yourselves better than but don't judge until you've walked in someone shoes. You can't understand someone's situation until you've experienced it. Everyone makes choices good or bad in life.
Eric was a family man. I feel right now for his wife, kids, mother and grandfather. R*I*P* Eric. He had a lot of pride in this neighborhood. Try living around other gangs in L.A.. (good luck finding a spot like that) You'll find the guys in EXP to be a lot different. Don't forget quite a bit of you transplants chose to live in Echo Park. These are the things we grew up around. It's not a fairy tale world out there. We all find our own way to live the story of life.
Of course judging prematurely is unfair, and there are environments in the urban environment that have home and danger - but that's not what the criticism is.
The criticism is that when people terrorize neighborhoods with crime and thuggery, they only hurt the neighborhood and the city. Don't mistake toughness with chivalry, gangs with order, or fear with respect.
Remembering Eric should be done with that in mind - not a role model, not an asset to the neighborhood. Just a sad casualty.
I am so tired of all the us vs them mentality. I live in Echo Park. I own a home. I moved here two years ago. I also happen to be white. Does that make me "them"? Does that mean I don't love my community? We chose to move here for many reasons: Affordability, walking distance to a beautiful park as well as shops and restaurants. I love the diversity of this neighborhood, and hope that despite greedy landlords it can stay that way. You can see the love and sense of community among the members who have so obviously been here for most if not all of their lives. I embrace that as part of the neighborhood I chose to purchase my first home in, and use it as a reminder of how I would like my life to be. Please don't assume that because of the color of my skin, I can't and don't belong here. I am not a yuppie. I have worked so hard to be where I am today. We all have the chance to make a better life for ourselves and enhance our neighborhood with it. So if less time was spent lamenting how things have changed, and more time was spent actually making an effort to bind the two sides - then we will have something beyond what either side could have hoped for.
We are all effected by the events on Sunday. Whether or not we knew Eric, or whether or not people think he deserved it - it is a tragedy. He was someone's father, son, husband and friend. What we need to do is stop focusing on what kind of man he WAS, and focus on what we can do to make sure this never happens again.
Too many people here have jumped to the criticisms of gang life without acknowledging the human loss of a neighbor. We must offer condolences to the friends and family of this long-time Echo Park resident.
Judge if you must, but for God's sake, start with a recognition that a family has lost a father, husband, son and grandson.
To the poster @ 10:03 am. EP is gentrifying. And if that means my neighborhood will be safer for myself and my family... I welcome it. Eric was green lit for a reason. Thankfully no innocent by-standers where injured or killed.
I grew up with Eric. Haven't talked to him in many years. He had good and bad points but don't say he HAD to bang living in Echo Park, cause there's a lot of us who never did.
beautiful story
Great writing as always Eastsider.
here is a little insight to what i would call a very tragic story a family is left to wonder why their father / husband /son/grandson/uncle/and brother. is no longer with them good or bad us and them insignificant only the lord Jesus Christ can pass judgment!let thou who is with out fault cast the first stone. this man has done plenty of good in his neighborhood and i will miss him personally while i hadn't seen him in years he always greeted his neighbors with a smile and a hey how you doing . and to all remaining family may god bless you and give you peace through this trying time
Hmmm. Love and respect. firebombing a neighbors car, is sure an odd way off expressing love and respect. Following people home at night and threatening their safety, just passive aggressive affection I guess?
Inducting young kids into the gang life, dealing drugs in our "hood? Getting arrested for selling guns and drugs?
Did i miss anything? Probably. But
when someone does this much good, how couldn't you?
See you at the carwash.
YOU PEOPLE HAVE NO CLUE THE KIND OF PERSON ERIC WAS AND THE AMOUNT OF LOVE AND RESPECT HE HAD FROM HIS PEERS AND EVERYONE IN HIS COMMUNITY. HE WAS JUST A REALLY GOOD HEARTED TRUSTWORTHY GIVING MAN. WHAT EVER YOU NEEDED ERIC WOULD ALWAYS BE THERE TO GIVE IT TO YOU OR HELP YOU GET IT. ALOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE AFFECTED BY HIM NO LONGER BEING WITH US.. R.I.P ERIC... WE LOVE YOU...
how much money do i need to have to be a "yuppie" anyways ?
Well the saying "Live by the sword ...." you know the rest... applies to this tragedy and many more to come Im sure. The sad thing is that there will be retaliations. His "homeboys" will take action. Then their homies will retaliate…etc. Whats even more sad, is that his children will grow up with hate towards the rival gang and anyone associated with the gang for the death of their father. Its a sick circle that will continue unless they are shown that there are other options in life. And to be honest, If put in the same shoes as his children... I dont know how much different I would react. That makes me an animal of society just like them. Sad.
OH AND LET ME ADD SOME CAPS TO MAKE THIS COMMENT LEGIT.
The people that Eric Zamparripa hurt as a gang member may have also been loving fathers, brothers, sons, and husbands. In all the comments above, no one is disputing he was a gang member. As long as a person is involved in crime and hurting others in their community, any good deeds done really don't matter.
sat up thinking about this event last night. who ever mr. zamarripa was, he was a being on this earth just like every one else. was he loved? yes. was he good to his family? maybe. did he love his family? probably...but not all..i mean, who of us does?
what separated him is that he grew up believing that using fear in a community was ok - i have heard from some in this neighborhood that the "gangs" believe they keep the neighborhood safer. what about the kids at Baxter montessori? what about the kids at the elementary? these houses where bullets were flying, are within 20 yards of both...chilling. my biggest beef with all of this is the use of violence and fear. can anyone say they might complain about the noise at a know gang house, and not fear retribution. thats not community.
Fear and oppression. gangs thrive on that, because its what binds them. for some, the gang is the only identity that can bring them respect and power. i wish we could work to solve the fear and oppression that the kids who join gangs feel - its what drives many of them into this club that is, at essence, life negating. with tragic results for all. RIP Mr. Z and prayers for your family's pain and loss. I regret that you thought you had no choice but to live the gang life and now the children are vulnerable. my child is vulnerable.
What can we expect in terms of retribution in the neighborhood? Are we talking escalation?
R.I.P ERIC.. WE MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU....
For all of you that say we're better of without Eric, that says alot about you. What kind of person are you? What kind of person is glad another human being is gone from this world. What makes you think your any better than he was? He was a human being with family and friends that love and miss him very much and they are hurting right now. You are nobody to judge, God is the only one who can and will. I've lived her more than 25 years, tell me do you really believe we're better of without him? What do you think is going to happen now that he's gone? Do you really think the gang is going to disappear? Or do you think they're going to get a new leader? Maybe someone who did'nt live here all his life, someone who is going to let the youngster go wild, tag all over the place, break into cars and homes. If you knew Eric you would know that he had a lot of respect and loved his neighborhood and his community. He kept them in line, if you were scared befor we should be terrified now. Try to act like adults and show a little respect if not for him at least for his wife of 25 years, and his children. Everyone makes bad choices in life, no one is perfect. I'm not saying he was a saint but he had a right to live. Maybe we can learn something from this, maybe we can teach our kids different, but to say this is a good thing is horrible.
R.I.P Eric. You'll be greatly missed.
I too live here and am white. I am NOT a yuppie, been here on Echo Park Ave. for 10 years.
I now have a young son and this scares me to read about potential escalation.
Doesn't matter the color of your skin or how long you have been here or if you roll with a gang or not, people should rightly be concerned when bullets are flying right here in our neighborhood and especially right by a school.
It matters not if he was targeted. People and young innocents are always getting injured or killed for being caught in the crossfire.
I hate being scared to even walk up the hill now.
according to the police, this was an "inside job." In other words, both men who were shot were shot by ExP. that is almost more concerning to me.
Thank you 3/4 @ 11:39 a.m. It's inhuman to wish death on someone, and we all owe condolences to Eric's family. All but the most insane people here understand that.
Let's talk about judgment. We live in a society that asks us to sit on juries, so that we may sit in judgment of our peers (and benefit from their fair judgment if we are the accused). We were all in school for a decade-plus: teachers judged our schoolwork. We are evaluated at work, or as supervisors, we judge others' job performance... and so on.
All due respect, but I have _every_ right to sit in judgment of a gang leader in a working-class neighborhood.
I recognize that he apparently brought a sense of stability and community to some people in Echo Park. However, he did that within a system that promotes division and often enforces norms with violence or threats of violence.
Forgive those of us who stand in judgment of Eric, if we judge him incorrectly. But it's clear to me, reading here, that he was an ExP OG with a violent past (not-too-distant past either, if he was recently imprisoned, based on the judgment of his peers).
Quit treating Eric's gang ties as a "decision." It was a life choice that endangered him and his family and his community. Now another Los Angeles family must mourn another homicide, needlessly.
Love is the winner in the end.
"In the end you will judged by what you build not what you destroy." Barack Obama
The solution for me is not to buy into the fear but rather invest in hope and love.
Anyone who chooses violence as a way of life is ultimately destroying themselves and their children.
The level of self loathing is tragic and misguided.
The solution is to feel, and express love. It is the POWERFUL WINNER in the end.
Dont buy into the fear. Fear and violence are the choice of losers.
Why would you even pose a question like that dont you have any respect for the family and the friends who are grieving over this tragedy!!! Eric you will alwayz be my best friend. See I grew up with Eric since the 5th grade and one thing i know is fact is that he was and is a loving husband/father/son/grandson and he wanted the best for his hood even for those people who did'nt know him. You white people who are new to the hood with your fancy little coffee shops think your so much better than us, but the truth being is you people hide behind your masks and your white skin and talk about people you dont even know. Eric you will alwayz be my best friend I love you bra R*I*P.
You people who are saying that they are safer now that my friend is dead. Let me tell you something you feel that way b-cuz you dont take the chance to get to know anybody. I know that our hood is safe when you can sit in front of your coffee shops all night without being robbed or harassed by anybody who lives in echo park and for that matter anybody who would come into our hood to rob you, you dont seem to realize we would help you. Please stay away from bad mouthing my friend Eric I love you and I will miss you.
Wow. "You white people with your fancy coffee shops..."
I never knew that going to a coffee shop or drinking coffee for that matter was strictly a white thing. My latino friends like coffee and some of them can even be found at local coffee shops hanging out.
So very sorry about the loss of your friend but why the anger towards others?
I seriously doubt any white person who lives in EP thinks they are better than anyone else here.
Those type of people live in the 90210 area code or up in Brentwood. Anyone who chooses to live here is here because its a great neighborhood, unpretentious with lots of history that predates the "mi vida loca" gang stigma. EP was where the very first film studios were, where Charlie Chaplin made his first films, where Victorian homes still remain, where a gorgeous city park is located and is comprised of a real melting pot of all ethnic backgrounds, a true artists' haven and that is why families would be drawn here.
Regarding Eric, it seems he chose his life. I know many who grew up in EP who chose not to be involved with gangs. Eric chose to be a heavy-hitter in the EP gang scene.
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
RIP indeed.
It's time to speak up and speak out. And perhaps I can add a perspective that is entirely unique to this story.
First of all, all due respect and condolences to the families involved in the killings. No one, no one ever wants this outcome. No one wants to outlive their children or grandchildren. No one wants to be a widow so young (I know). No one wants to lose their parent (this too I know) at such a young age for what ever reason. My respects and sincerest condolences. I do understand the loss and pain.
When I saw the news reports of what happened, I wondered if indeed it was Eric's bullet that had finally found it's way home. And then the phone rang with the news that, yes, it was Eric who had died, not to mention a friend of his nearly losing his life, as well and the other gang member in another community a short while later.
It's been a few days digesting all of this, reading the blogs, seeing the responses to this inevitable outcome to a lifestyle with very few solutions to the equation of the choice to jump in.
I knew Eric. I was one of his victims. Many years ago. And yet when I heard the news, my first response was a sense of sadness for his family, because I can view things from a bigger picture. I've experienced loss in the past year myself, so from this vantage I can be compassionate. In spite of many things, we are still talking about human beings. To that end, I was strangely saddened to hear this news.
But this wasn't unexpected news by any means. It never really is with these guys. It is only a matter of time, sadly.
Eric was an enigma. As is typical of anything Echo Park. But newcomers don't be fooled by this enigma. Or any ExP enigma for that matter. While he might have been charming, giving and caring to those he kept in his chosen circle (and sincerly so), he was a monster to those he victimized. If he decided you were not worthy of his "respect" God help you. God help you.
I didn't do anything horrible to Eric. Nothing out of the ordinary really. We had a disagreement, something reasonable people can actually work out. But you see, gang members are not reasonable people. They don't have to be, reasonable. They aren't equipped to be, reasonable. (And let us not forget there are "cultural" aka race issues here that still ring loud and clear. Sometimes for good reason, but this isn't a discourse in racial relations.)
He either loved you or he wanted you gone, disappeared. And while our disagreement did not end on good terms --his choice, I did my best to work out an amenable solution. He wasn't having it, no peace in the offering. Then something happened, and he and his pals assumed I was behind that something that affected them. But they were wrong. So my family and I were the target of their vindication.
There was violence, make no mistake about it. A drive by. A firebombing. Stalking. And not just Eric and the homies, it was a family affair too. Even the police and gang units strongly advised us in no uncertain terms to move. It was that bad. So let's not paint this man as Che Guevarra. He wasn't by any means some revolutionary hero fighting "the man." Nope. But I suspect he might have been a guy torn between worlds, cultures. That I'm willing to give him.
For years after we left the community I suffered PTSD and all that it entails to keep calm and sane from this disorder. There were days I couldn't leave the house. Loud noises still bother me. Not entirely Eric's doing, you do learn something living in a war zone.
But during the time this man terrorized me and my family, he taught me a valuable lesson. I had to look beyond myself and him to see what the real issues were behind these guys. And what I saw was fear. Fear and insecurity, and a great desire to have control over something in this life. Because none of these guys ever really feels they have control of anything, or security about anything or even a sense of belonging or family or community. Which is why they join gangs. It's a place to fill that void.
When I realized this, I was surprised to find I felt, of all things, compassion for Eric.
Don't get me wrong. It's not a warm and fuzzy thing, compassion. More like a prickly pear cactus. But I got it. And weirdly, I got him. Not that I agreed with him or his choices, but I understood. Which gave me back control and choice in my life.
Something he said then became truth. He told me he would "make me move out of Echo Park one way or another." And boy did he lived up to that. He was right, I could and did move. But here's the bigger truth; when it came down to making the choice, I had the freedom he would never have. Echo Park was his life sentence. It would never be mine.
Now with the news of his death, I'll spend some time sorting all this out once again. Maybe I can finally get some peace from the PTSD. Maybe not.
Will I ever feel safe? As long as there are gangs, not really. But I'm not going to live paralyzed with fear. I'll always be vigilant.
I can only hope that Eric's family will learn from this, and maybe seek some peace for themselves. I can only hope the cycle of violence will end. But knowing what I know, I fear that it has only to begin yet again...
My Latino family has been in the neighborhood for over 50 years and I don't think just because I am Latino I have more to say about the neighborhood than my white neighbors.
And enough about respect. The Echo Park gang needs to find respect when they tag up the neighborhood and when drive-by shootings make people feel scared.
Violence should never be honored!
The man is gone now, wether he was good or bad why not let him rest in peace.
I think it's interesting everyone is focussed on Eric. How about the other EXP gang member who died on Sunday? Were his evils or good deeds not comparable? There's way more to this than hits the page folks. EP was quiet while Eric was in jail. Now it's not. 2 dead, one wounded, one being held for $3mil dollars bail. Begs a bigger question.
Condolences to everyone-the families, the community, the businesses, the schools. EP the community got sucked into EXP the telenovella. High drama.
I lived in Echo Park all my life. I moved out in 1995. Eric was like my brother, My family loved him , i loved him. I pray for his family and kids. Yes Eric was a great person. He wanted the best for nieghborhood. People can judge him ..thats okay . You didnt know him. We all who moved out the hood years ago..Still loved him and will always love him!!
so the hispanic community has cholos and what else is new? yuppies have their own trash like child molestors, racists, their kids go on a killing spree at their schools, and rich people that just think about getting richer for themselves and dont give back to the community I think that is also robbery. The Yuppies just like to point fingers at the "cholos" to get any attention off of them. Respect a mans life i say. cause if it was you that died and left your family behind, would you be happy to hear that the world is better off without you?
The truth is the more gang members that are killed, the safer the rest of us are. And for all you racist Mexicans writing on here, I am not white. I am Filipino and my family has lived in this area for three generations. It still puzzle me why so many Mexican can't see the bad their gangster children do! Its like a sickness of their minds
Enough with the racial bullshit! All sorts of people have lived in Echo Park: latino, asian, italian, eastern european, artists, workers etc. No one "owns" this neighborhood. We are all part of this community. Tagging, gang violence and all of that bullshit needs to be ended so we can all get on with our lives! Homeboys need to find something productive to do with their lives and stop acting out low rent versions of "The Godfather"!
Like I said before, you people who choose not to associate with us, or to make you happy should i say "the gang members" hide behind the vindictive and cruel mask trying to convince yourself what you think and do is no worse than what we do. Point in case you write these things about Eric and the rest of us oops "gang members" by going anonymous that tells me a lot about you. I have a lot of family in this hood and never once felt scared. I love were i grew up!!!
Wow, I'm sure Charlie Manson was a 'loving son' and Mussolini was probably a well respected 'family man'. I'm sure Jeffrey Dahmer waved to all his neighbors too.
But try telling that to the family a block away from me whose 8 year old son was gunned down last year in a drive by. I'm sure they're all about 'keeping it real' and letting Jesus judge now.
JohhJohn says that we non gang members are "trying to convince yourself what you think and do is no worse than what we do." Well it's pretty easy to do because - big shock - I and most of the others have never robbed someone or shot someone I don't know! Actually gang members ARE worse than the rest of us. You act as if they provide some sort of noble public service when in fact they simply prey upon the people in their neighborhood. I know, because my abuela was robbed by your damn courageous EXP members. And to all the white people reading this, there are plenty of us Hispanics in this and other neighborhoods that HATE gang members because that is who they target the most - us! Please don't listen to Eric's fool friends.
This was not a racial tragedy. Why are you guys trying to make it racial? Don't you understand that your only going to make things worse. There's enough tension as it is here already. Yes, I too live, love and grew up in Echo Park. I think all these negative comments are going to just start problems.
Tactless question. Sorry. Words are just words they can be incendiary. Echo Park is a great neighborhood. Over 30 years here, the incidences of random shooting have been few. Anger at Eric? Eric died!! Totally ugly and inappropriate lead in. The last 8 years people have been moving into the neighborhood because it was CHEAP. Why cheap, because homes were inexpensive inner city without the city. It became a barrio because this where the Mexican-Americans moved and they could afford homes. The last 8 years people heard that we are a creative community because of this they wanted to be kool and rub shoulders because this is where artists and musicians could afford to live. These last 8 years the newcomers built fences around their homes, closed themselves up to create their form of American dream rather than embrace the community and its culture. These last 8 years the value of our homes rose, to widen the abyss between the community and the newcomers. Perhaps with the economic dip, reduction of homes values, we will get back to normal. Hallelujah. Remember Mexican-American and looks different IS NOT gang member. Introduce your selves. Get to know them. They are good people, and funny, and love to laugh. They feel from the heart.
This is a horrible horrbile tragedy for the people who knew and loved Eric. And for those of you who did'nt know him and don't have anything good to say, out of respect you shouldn't say anything at all.
R.I.P Eric
I've been following this forum for a couple of days now and I've been pretty shocked by what I've read.
Simply put, I can't believe that people in our community tolerate and dismiss gang activity.
Gangs (including ExP) murder people. Plain as day. We're not talking about community activists we're talking about murderers.
There's no dismissing this because someone loves their wife or their parents, that does not give them a pass on killing people, instilling fear in the neighborhood around them and threatening the lives around them.
We need to be able to agree on some values as a community. values like: murder is wrong, violence is wrong, putting children in harm's way is wrong.
Sadly, from some of the posts on here I don't get the sense that we all share those values.
I TOO LIVE IN ECHO PARK. I AGREE WITH WHAT ALOT OF WHAT YOU ARE SAYING, BUT DO YOU REALLY THINK THEY'RE JUST GOING TO GO AWAY BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE ARE MAKING COMMENTS? OR DO YOU THINK SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE? WHAT CAN WE DO?
Never met Eric. Glad I never got on his bad side; shame I never got on his good side. Apparently.
If all of you are so scared, and it's so horrible here why do you guys keep moving here?
As a home owner in Echo Park with $200 in my bank account, I guess becasue I'm white and own a house that makes me a Yuppie. I have no money to fix my house, yet I keep it neat, clean and orderly and take my trash out.
Yet, I see sofas, chairs, all sorts of litter throughout the neighborhood. Do people in this neighborhood not understand what a garbage pail is?
It doesn't take "money" to walk garbage to the proper receptacle...and it gets taken away for you "free" by the city each week.
Respect your neighborhood and the world will be a better place. What's wrong with wanting a cleaner neighborhood?
That also means stop the grafitti and gang violence. While Eric may have been a loving parent, father friend, he was a gang member... His gang probably responsible for tagging my house twice (EXP written) & breaking into my used beat up car three times.
While I feel sorry for his family, choosing to be a gang member means choosing the possiblitly of death at an early age. We all live in one country. This neighborhood does not belong to the Latinos, anymore than it belongs to the so called "poor yuppies". Who ever wants to move into this neighborhood is allowed to....I don't know of a city ordinance banning that?
I'm a white dude who has lived in EP since '96. What I've seen change in that time is more white people, more hipster businesses opening up, more people on the street talking to each other, doing cool art projects...
I don't feel apologetic about being part of the gentrification. I have deep feelings for this neighborhood.
It's about race, and it isn't. If Latinos are worried about higher rents, they should organize and protest. Their new white neighbors will join them. We all love EP and we all have to be willing to take care of it. The yuppie who comes in and complains about the banda playing next door isn't that different from the gangbanger. They both claim to care about the place. Really all they're doing is marking their territory.
So rather than tossing around stereotypes or oversimplify what gentrification is, we should remember we're all here. None of us are leaving.
Living in America means the freedom to live where you want. Those who have lived here for many years apparently think they "own" the neighborhood. I must remind them that their families too had once moved into this area many years ago.
The neighborhood doesn't belong to anyone, including the Gangs. I've never felt more vulnerable and "unsafe" until I moved to Los Angeles and that's coming from a New Yorker...but I will not let Gang violence push me out of this neighborhood as well as the others that feel I have no right being here. People get "real" we are living in the year 2009. Step out of your box and beyond the boundaries of your cultural past and move forward. We've elected a Black President, stop living in the past and let's all just try and get along.
The question posed has opened up a dialogue that is long overdue and it has been good to hear from all sides and walks of life. I hope this brings the neighborhood together instead of deepening any divide.
As a white who moved to Echo Park in 1989 after growing up in a white South Bay suburb, becoming a part of a diverse community was something I loved. Sitting on our front porch of our apartment we said hello to everyone; gang bangers, the drunks the retired. It was about respect and engaging with your neighbors. We have lived in 5 different places within Echo Park and feel deeply entrenched in the community. In the last 4 years, I too have started resenting the vibe some of the newcomers have brought to Echo Park such as neighbors and dog walkers in Elysian who can't make eye contact and say a simple hello in passing. Going into CHANGO and getting attitude from behind the counter and the customers makes me believe it isn't about race but something else I can't quite put my finger on.
so here i go again I'm listening to the Thursday meeting and i have to ask everyone who grew up in the hood in the eighty's and ninety's did we not make some bad choices. Yes maybe are parents made some as well.I know we were only following in the footsteps of our roll models at the time but i believe its time to stop this cycle of self destruction if not for ourselves then for our children most of us have children now even if they don't live with us we must still wonder how there turning out and I'm sure we don't want the same for them. If cant admit this to ourselves we will never be able to make sure this same thing doesn't continue to happen again and again and if we don't stop this now we will be back here in a few years discussing another death only this time it will be one of our children not a friend not that a friend is less important than your child to the zamarripas my deepest condolences may god bless. and just so everyone is aware i am very sorry for my contributions to the gang lifestyle I can only hope we can find a way keep kids out of gangs for there really not necessary and everyone with the O.G. title you can truly make a difference and help save these kids
I sit hear and read all the good and bad things people write about Eric, and it saddens me to hear that there is is so much hate in this world. To wish death on any human being is wrong and distasteful, we have all done something wrong or bad in our lifetime. I grew up with Eric and considered him to be like a brother to me and my cousins.When i received the phone call that he had passed away i broke down and cried and till this day i find myself crying and thinking about the great times we had as we were growing up. I am really sad for Letty and his kids but i know Eric, he showed Letty and his kids how to be strong in tough times and i am positive they will come out of this situation as a closer stronger family. some have written that the world is better off without him , for those who wrote that i hope you pay close attention to his boys. They are amazingly smart kids and will some day make a positive difference in this world.I will miss Eric dearly and he will always be in my heart. I love you Eric.
I lived in Echo Park all my life. My brothers and i grew up with Eric. Some of us moved out to nicer area's, My Mother and brother still live there today. My brother's home is across the street from eric's grandpa's home. Echo Park was Eric. He loved his nieghborhood. Eric was an awesome person. My brother's loved him and I loved him. People who make there stupid comments, I pray that this never happens to you. I dont even live in echo park,but i never stopped going there and i for sure never stopped loving eric. Yeah some of us moved out of the area. but it didnt mean we were better than him or anybodys else,didnt matter how far we moved Eric was still loved. All my brothers are successful men we have beautiful homes ,drive nice cars. But that material stuff doesnt mattter ..What matters is human life, i was there in 2 minutes after Eric got shot . Im very greatful to God for letting me be there.I can tell you this . Eric smiled. I truly believe the Lord was there with us. No matter who you become in life ,and how far u move your friends will always be your friends, and Eric was always my friend/brother I LOVED YOU ERIC..im going miss you. please visit http://www.weloveyoueric.com
All donations will be given to his wife and his 3 boys.
thank god he is dead, hopefully, echo park will be safer.
MARCH 7,2009 8:13 A.M.
Remember that when a family or close friend of your dies. Pay backs a bitch.
a lot of the anonymous writers keep thanking god that Eric is dead and that god will punish him. Amazing how ignorant and hypocritical you people are i thought god was good and loved everyone. then you wonder why people question god. It is people like you that should question yourselves and your supposed faith. I tell my kids to always think about what you say before you say it because it may hurt someone and make you look stupid. I think we all need to take a step back and stop bashing Eric and his life style and focus on what needs to be done to bring the neighborhood back to calm and tranquility. I LOVE YOU ERIC AND WILL MISS YOU DEARLY.
What a great turn out on both days of the car wash. Thanks to all the people who donated their time and money. As we move closer to the final Hours of putting my friend to rest, I want to say to everyone who writes on this site, "please refrain from using any negative and dispicable comments you may have". Now is not the time to bash Eric and tell us how glad you are. I truly believe in karma, and for those who are sitting back writing all those nasty things karma alwayz comes back. See you later Eric love you..........
I agree with John John. On March 1, 1998, my 20 year old son was killed. Since then, two families that strongly critized me have lost children of their own. God is good but when we act ugly, he steps back and allows certain things to happen, to remind us that we need to love and respect each other.
To anonymous who claims a yuppie and gang-member are the same, remember that when you attend your mothers/sisters/daughters' funeral.
Yuppies generally don't shoot or stab people. They're probably just as guilty of DUI as the more seasoned neighbors, but they're not committing overt, intentional acts of violence, in the name of "turf".
Modern media, in conjunction with the public schools and the Democrat party have indoctrinated the masses to somehow believe that a person of non-european ancestry has some claim against "the man", and that somehow, poverty or joblessness leads to crime. It does not, if you live a moral life.
Gentrification is not evil. It is the natural result of investment and improvement. If the most recent inhabitants of a neighborhood want to prevent it, then they too, should improve themselves, buy the land and hold it. NOW is a very opportune time to strike and buy in, while many of yesterday's wannabe gentrifiers, flippers and investors are in the toilet and banks are dealing.
Unfortunately, the concept of private property is often lost on the indoctrinated, who have been led to believe they have a right to something they don't own.
YOU KNOW ALL U PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO ARE YUNGSTERS IN ECHO PARK AND DID NOT KNOW ERIC, YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SAYING AND PRETTY MUCH DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THIS GREAT MAN..ALL I CAN SAY TO ALL YOU PEOPLE IS THAT I GREW UP WITH HIM HE WAS A GOOD SECOND DAD OF ME. THIS MAN HAD NICE RESPECT TO EVERYONE I REMEMBER LIKE IT WAS YESTURDAY HIM TALKING TO ME, HIM DOING WORK ON HIS CLASSIC MODELS, HIM WITH US ON A 4RTH OF JULY ON FARGO ST.. BURNING FIREWORKS..I JUST DONT HAVE ANY WORDS TO SAY WHAT A GREAT MAN HE WAS..HE LOOKED OUT FOR ME LIKE NO ONE ELSE HAD BESIDE MY FAMILY. KNOW THAT ERIC IS GONE ECHO PARK IS NOT THE SAME AND WILL NEVER BE..**AND PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY COMMENTS IF YOU DID NOT KNOW HIM**
**R.I.P ERIC ZAMARRIPA**
TO ERIC'S FAMILY. THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL WEBSITE CALLED "EVERLASTING MEMORIES" WHERE YOU CAN POST A LIFE MEMORIAL FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO VIEW. ITS WWW.MEM.COM. GOD BLESS YOU LETTY AND BE STRONG FOR YOUR KIDS!!
GENNY 1989 SENTINEL
my dad and my tios knew Eric since they were kids they lived in ECHO PARK all their lives, i didnt know him but my dad said he was a loving man who cared and loved his family.i just wanted to pay my condolences and to Eric's family i am deeply sorry for your loss...may god bless you all in this difficult time.
R.I.P eric.
and to everyone "bloggin" just let the man rest in peace!!
I NEVER FELT UNSAFE IN ECHO PARK?
This was one of the most stupid questions to ask. the information that officer Joe Ryder gives you is about Eric was from his early years, Joe Ryder has no idea about Eric and the person he was, and neither do the rest of you people.
You people feed off of what the police tell you, the Cops are just as shady as a drug dealer, they are no different from a gang member other than they have a bag! I'm a long time member of ECHO PARK and I’ve never had any problems with these guys, if anything I feel safe with them here. You all should be lucky these guys are not rapeing or molesting our sons and dauthers,or robbing our houses. These guy's have regular 9-5 jobs and what's wrong with them hanging out drinking a beer or two you people do the same thing they do, Drinking out in the streets while having you art shows do we complain NO. Get Over It!
No a dam thing.
"a family has lost a father, husband, son and grandson."
And every single member of that family knew he was a gangbanger, and the risks associated with that life. It was just a matter of time.
That's right he was a Loving Father, Husband and Grandson, Eric was someone Special someone with a loving hart and never a mean bone in his body. And that's something you ignorant people will never experience. I'm proud to say that I've had the Plesure of meeting and being friends with Eric Zamarripa I'm 52 years old and Eric was and always will be My Friend.
I moved to the Echo Park area around 1979. We were one of the
first Black Families in the area.
I grew up with Eric and Letty, The
Homeboys and Homegirls from the Echo were all my friends. I am proud to say this because no one never disrespected or caused problems with our Family.
I used to throw huge parties at our former home on 1972 Avon St during the early 80's, everyone was
welcome. Eric, Letty, Rebecca, always had a open door at there home. There children were well mannered and Eric will always be near to my heart. I am currently
A U.S. Service Member,and proud to have had grown up with such A wonderful Man. I have seen the face
of Violence head on in Iraq, I can not believe the comments on this Blog. I WILL MISS YOU ERIC.
So is Echo Park safer without Eric Zamarripa?
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