Community holds vigil to remember shooting victim
Family mourns the loss of Gerardo “Jerry” Olivares-Mancha, 18, during a candlelight vigil held last week at Dayton High School.
DAYTON – Fami ly, friends and community members assembled at Dayton High School last Friday night to remember the life of a recent graduate, who was gunned down last week in a senseless shooting.
Gerardo “Jerry” Olivares- Mancha, 18, lost his life while quietly sitting in his bedroom in what law enforcement calls a drive-by shooting down a private road off FM 1413 last Wednesday.
Hundreds came out to the vigil to remember the life of Olivares-Mancha and show support to his family in these trying times.
Several DISD officials
Ariel Turner spoke and read scripture during the event, but Olivares- Mancha was best remembered by his former teacher, Trey Ellison as a loving and decent young man.
“Jerry lived up to God’s definition of love,” Ellison said when reading 1 Corinthians 13.
Ellison said that Olivares- Mancha was a student he always welcomed into his class, even after he was no longer one of his students.
“He was actually in my class for three years. The fourth year, he just came in there and hung out because he was welcome,” he said.
Those in attendance remembered the young man for his character, and it was obvious that he would be missed by the many tears shed during the gathering.
“ He did not care so much about what others thought of him. Just his friends and family” said Ellison.
Many others joined those family and friends to pay their respects, including The Vindicator’s own Ariel Turner, who participated in FFA with Olivares-Mancha, when she was n high school.
“He was always kind to everyone. He was just a freshman when we were on the Dayton FFA wool team together in my junior year. He was like the life of the party and made the trips and competitions fun no matter what was going on,” said Turner.
The hunt for those responsible continues, according to Liberty County Sheriff’s Capt. David Meyers, his investigators continue to work leads and hope to find some answers soon.
“Investigators are looking through some possible leads and have been looking at videos,” he said.
Investigators believe a light-colored truck entered and exited the area around the time of the shooting where Olivares- Mancha was tragically killed.