Reason First

Christina Lopez, 42, of Madera, California allegedly used her settlement money from the wrongful death of one son to supply firepower to another son’s gang. If true, this is just another in a long line of horrific behaviors arising out of gang activity in America, and the world.

What kind of mother would do something so monstrous? What drove her to degrade herself to the point where she would not only commit a felony, but also abandon her proper role as a

Lopez sits behind bars. District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp holds that Lopez received funds from the settlement, and spent thousands of dollars on weapons. The illegal activity came to light after an investigation into a fatal shooting in July led to almost twenty suspects, including Lopez.

This is how vicious gangs are. When this mother helped finance gang activity, she not only committed a crime against the law, she also violated her obligation to protect her child. It shows how toxic the game is. Gone are the days of parents restricting their children from engaging in unlawful activities, like gangs. Now, we have moms who help their gangster sons, even if it means going to prison themselves.

Assuming she did commit the crimes for which she’s charged, she will face 22 counts of gun trafficking, including conspiracy to provide firearms to a minor for the benefit of a street gang, child endangerment, and conspiracy to provide a firearm to a gang member.

If guilty, this female chose to contribute to the death of another, rather than use the money to improve her own life. Instead of taking care of herself and her family, she will have chosen to help fuel the fire of gang life.

What Lopez represents is someone so out of touch with reality they cannot decipher or differentiate between right and wrong. Her behavior was completely irrational. A rational person involved in case like this would not be behind bars right now.

What will she have to say for herself? How will she defend herself in the court of law? It would be a great surprise if any jury members felt sorry for a female who was granted almost five million dollars and used it criminally. She could have used the money for everything from home improvement, to sending her other son to college.

When she looks in the mirror, Lopez will have to face the consequences of her lack of rational self-interest and impulse control. She clearly chose death over life, and jeopardized her remaining son’s life in the process. If she is convicted, and goes to prison for ten years, she will have to reflect on her past misdeeds. They will haunt her because she may not have the wherewithal to deal with the terror she was a part of in Fresno, California.

Lopez will forever go down as a female who contributed to the ugliness in beautiful America. Her whole idealism will be to put her on blast. All of her actions will be forever tainted no matter how many potential charities she could set up in her deceased son’s name. She cannot undo what she has perpetrated against the good citizens of the Madera and Fresno sections of California.

All that this female has to do is live with what she allegedly did and take her lumps. The way out of this situation is for her to teach other parents of gang members to not feed into the lifestyle. She could go to different potential inmates and share her tale and make it resonant. This is the only route that she could do to almost redeem herself.