A 30-year-old man was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in prison in connection with the 2020 death of 4-year-old Moses Lopez in Tracy.
Oscar Munoz, who accepted a negotiated plea deal, received a six-year sentence for child abuse and willful cruelty to a child, plus a three-year enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury. Court documents show the murder charge against Munoz was dismissed in exchange for his no-contest plea.
He will serve his total sentence of nine years in state prison.
What happened to Moses?
On Nov. 16, 2020, the Tracy Police Department was called to an apartment in the 3800 block of West Grant Line Road on a report of a child not breathing.
When police and paramedics arrived, they rushed Moses to a hospital. The boy died after life-saving measures failed to revive him, police said.
Five days later, on Nov. 21, 2020, Moses’ mother, Camila Pizarro-Vergara, 24, and her husband, Munoz, 25, were arrested in the 1900 block of Birchwood Lane on suspicion of the child’s death.
The couple had met in August 2019, and by February 2020, they had married.
A search warrant affidavit stated that in October 2020, Moses’ daycare noticed an injury to the child’s left ear. In November 2020, the daycare notified Child Protective Services after staff observed injuries to Moses’ left ear, chest and face, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit stated that on the day Moses died, Munoz checked on the child and noticed he was not moving. Munoz called his parents and then 911, according to the affidavit.
“When treating Moses, they [paramedics] noticed that Moses had severe bruising in the back of the head and neck area,” the document stated.
Moses arrived at the hospital at 8:55 a.m., and by 11:30 a.m., he was pronounced dead.
A doctor at Tracy Community Hospital who treated Moses when he arrived noticed the child had extensive bruising around his body, the affidavit stated.
It is unclear whether Pizarro-Vergara still faces charges in connection with Moses’ death. A hearing for Pizarro-Vergara is scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Stockton courthouse.
Family of Moses opposes plea deal
Before the sentencing hearing for Munoz began, both the victim’s family and the defendant’s family crowded into the courtroom gallery.
Felipe Lopez, the biological father of Moses, sat in the front row. He held a teddy bear dressed as Woody from “Toy Story.” When the teddy bear’s hand was pressed, it played a recorded message in Moses’ voice.
He said he has spent the last six years fighting for justice for his son.
Prior to the hearing, Felipe Lopez and many other family and community members gathered in front of the San Joaquin County Superior Courthouse in Stockton for a peaceful protest.
“We want justice. When do we want it? We want it now. Say his name. Moses Lopez,” the demonstrators chanted.
Many protesters wore shirts bearing the child’s face with the words, “Justice for Moses. His voice will be heard,” printed on them.
Daniela Lopez, the aunt of Moses Lopez, said she felt that the family was blindsided by the plea deal accepted by the defendant. The family came to court on July 9 for a trial readiness hearing. However, they were told that there would no longer be a trial and the murder charge had been dismissed, she said.
“This is not justice for my son,” Felipe Lopez said of the plea deal. “This is not right. It’s not justice for my son.”
He added that the prosecution failed his son.
As San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Chrishna Martinez called the case to order, Felipe Lopez stood up and asked to address the court with a point of order.
A point of order is a formal objection raised during a meeting or hearing to alert a presiding chair that rules of a procedure are being violated.
He asked Martinez to postpone the sentencing hearing.
“Until I arrived at the courthouse [on July for the trial readiness hearing], I had never been informed that the district attorney’s office had already negotiated a plea agreement,” Felipe Lopez said. “Only after I arrived, I was told that the defendant would be pleading guilty that very day. I was shocked.”
Felipe Lopez said he believed the case was finally going to trial.
Defense attorney Christopher Varnell and Deputy District Attorney Elton Grau approached the bench to speak with Martinez.
Following the discussion at the bench, Grau addressed Felipe Lopez, his family and the courtroom.
“This is one of those cases that has a very tortuous history,” Grau said.
Grau said he explained to Felipe Lopez that there were issues with the case, including the inability to prove certain aspects of it. Grau said Munoz had gone to the U.S. Supreme Court and fought bail and had been represented by several attorneys throughout the case.
“There are times in our cases where the ethics of a prosecutor calls and it asks us to stand up and say, ‘Can you prove a case?'” Grau said.
He became emotional as he said, “It breaks my heart when I look at all of you to say this: ‘I could not, I could not prove that case.'”
Grau said on July 9 he was informed that Munoz was interested in resolving the case. Ultimately, Martinez said she would proceed with the sentencing hearing.
Impact statements, sentencing get emotional
The first person to make an impact statement was Felipe Lopez.
He said his son’s fifth birthday was just weeks prior to the child’s death.
“He never made it,” Felipe Lopez said. “This wasn’t just my son. He was a person.”
He described his son’s love for Marvel, Black Panther, Spider-Man and Toy Story during his statement. He said what his son loved most was to sing and dance. The song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” was the cue for Moses to grab his father’s hand and dance with him in the living room.
Felipe Lopez said his son was supposed to have many more birthdays.
“He should be 10 years old right now. He should be in fifth grade,” Felipe Lopez said. “Instead, I’m here because the defendant took his life.”
Felipe Lopez addressed Munoz and told him he was forced to live every day with what happened to his son.
“You didn’t just kill a 4-year-old boy on Nov. 16, 2020. You killed the father I was,” Felipe Lopez said. “He took the noise. He took the life. He left me with silence.”
Felipe Lopez told Munoz that he now has to explain to people why he is a father but does not have a son.
“What you did was murder. You’re getting nine years, but you gave me a life sentence,” Felipe Lopez said.
Daniela Lopez spoke after her brother and said her nephew was the first grandchild of the family.
She said she and her brother grew up with an absent father and a single mother. Their childhood was not easy. Daniela Lopez said her brother’s becoming a father meant he could rewrite his own childhood.
“He could give this little boy every affection, create memories and be the father he didn’t have,” she said.
Daniela Lopez said from the moment her nephew was born, she knew she would be the best aunt. She said the distance she traveled to see Moses did not matter because every mile was worth it.
She said the date of his death will forever weigh heavily on her family’s heart.
Daniela Lopez told Munoz’s family that every encounter with them had been exhausting. She told them that their aggression toward her brother and their family was unwarranted and lacked empathy.
Daniela Lopez also addressed Munoz and asked him how he could betray her nephew.
“He loved you. He thought you were his friend,” she said.
Munoz’s father, Luis Munoz, and sister also made victim impact statements.
Luis Munoz said he loved his grandson and that they had met when the child was 3 years old. He said it was one of the greatest honors of his life to become Moses’ grandfather.
He recounted memories the two had shared and said he and his wife miss their grandson.
Oscar Munoz’s sister described him as selfless and said her brother still had so much good to offer.
His attorney told the courtroom that he did have a statement he wanted to read, but he advised his client not to make any statements.
As the sentencing hearing wrapped up, Martinez told Munoz he would have to live with what happened for the rest of his life.
Following the hearing, the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office released a statement.
“In every case we handle, we remain completely dedicated to protecting victims’ rights and strictly upholding the provisions of Marsy’s Law,” the district attorney’s office said.
It continued: “Before the entry of plea on July 9th, our office conferred with the victim’s family and advised them of the intended resolution. The entire office understands and deeply shares in the community’s profound grief during this unimaginably difficult time. The death of young Moses is a tragedy for which this office is committed to achieving justice.”
Record reporter Victoria Franco covers public safety in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at vfranco@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stepfather sentenced in 2020 Tracy death of 4-year-old Moses Lopez
Reporting by Victoria Franco, The Stockton Record / The Record
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By Victoria Franco, The Stockton Record | USA TODAY Network
