“I haven’t had a good life but I’ve lived my freedom. My brother lives his hell every day, I won’t stop until I see him free,” she said.
Yvonne Chavez was only 14 years old. Her mind was distracted, not registering what was happening around her; she suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). But that night, something happened that changed her life and that of her family forever.
Antonio ‘Tony’ Chavez, her 22-year-old brother, told his parents he was going to see his girlfriend; one of his friends, José Beltrán, accompanied him, and both ended up being accused and prosecuted for the murder of another minor. The police insisted it was a gang-related incident, but now, in Ivonne’s eyes and with new witnesses, both young men were framed by the police, detectives making up false evidence, testimonies, and covering up witness accounts that stated it was two other youths who fled the scene who were responsible for the incident.
“It was all very confusing for me. I wasn’t aware of what was happening, and my parents didn’t tell me what was going on. Simply put, after that night, Tony, my brother, never came home again,” says Yvonne.
The life of this Latina woman of Mexican descent has been a kind of ‘hell.’ Surrounded by a time when the Highland Park neighborhood was plagued by gangs, fights, and shootings in the streets, she had to endure the murder of one of her brothers and then the lifelong imprisonment of another.
Three men and two women. They took care of themselves.
“We were growing up alone. My parents had up to two jobs, my siblings took care of me. Tony never belonged to a gang; the brother they killed was part of them. What happened to Tony was unfair,” she says.
The young man who died in that shooting was her friend, so it also hurt her, and it bothered her that her brother was accused of doing it.
“Many people in the neighborhood knew he didn’t do it, but they remained silent for fear of reprisals if they spoke out. It was tough times; I started getting into trouble, there was a lot of helplessness on my part, I didn’t know what to do. I skipped classes, got drunk, roamed the streets until someone came to my rescue,” she adds. “I lived my own hell.”
She became pregnant at 16 and at 18 she saw Tony again, in jail. She wanted to introduce him to her baby.
“He’s always been very serious and shy, but I think he really liked seeing us. I was very scared during my pregnancy, the father was already with someone else, I knew I was alone, frustrated, watching life pass by. Without my mom and my sister, I wouldn’t have made it,” she says.
With her brother in jail, her distant father, and her sister and mother helping as they could, she felt like the world was crashing down on her. The police would stop her on the street, she was always angry, she argued and fought if anyone looked at her the wrong way. Inside her, she knew something had to change.
“I never liked who I was, but I didn’t know how to make a change. At 33 years old (the age at which Christ died), I started to wake up, my transformation, although it took me a while to find the right path. I knew I had to do it for my children. I decided to start school,” she adds.
Yvonne finished college and then a master’s degree focused on Forensic Psychology with a specialization in policing. Although she has never practiced, having a record with the police and the life she has led did not help her get job offers. Instead, she has dedicated herself to working as a supervisor in special education services for children.
“I know the needs that exist and how important the work I do is, I myself have a child with special needs, no one can tell me about it,” she adds.
And at 37, Yvonne Chavez had a secure job, a car, and money to live on. She also had three children who are now 24, 16, and 13 years old.
She started a campaign on social media, Justice for Antonio and Jose, The Wrongfully Convicted.
“In 2021, I started my activism to get my brother out of jail. I got new evidence, including the mother of the young man who died stating that it was unfair for Tony to remain in jail. However, they denied him parole. I told myself that I would dedicate my life, tirelessly, until I see my brother free. I don’t want him acquitted, I want him to have a fair trial with all the evidence there is. I am totally convinced that my brother did not kill that young man,” she says.
She started a campaign on social media, Justice for Antonio and Jose, The Wrongfully Convicted.
“I do everything alone, neither my family nor Jose’s family has been involved, it’s as if they had accepted this, they had given up. I explained to my children what it was about, that I wouldn’t feel at peace if I let this injustice happen,” Yvonne comments.
She has stood out as an activist in the Highland Park area, always trying to make herself heard, getting involved in campaigns or events that help the community.
“I thank people like Wendy Carrillo, Eunisses Hernández, Ysabel Jurado for being present and spreading my message of this injustice. But there are others who have not responded like my councilmen in District 14.
Tony Chavez is in a prison in San Diego, she hasn’t seen him in seven years but they talk on the phone every day. He is hopeful that his sister’s work will bear fruit and he won’t have to wait years for another hearing.
The absence of a lawyer, the rejection of organizations dedicated to wrongful convictions, has not helped her.
“Many don’t take on more cases, others don’t have time, and so on. I’m alone. I’ve done this entire campaign learning as I go, I didn’t know how to speak in public, I didn’t know anything about social media. My brother has been in jail for 27 years, they stole his youth, he’s 49 years old, it’s time for him to enjoy his freedom,” she says, convinced.
And she adds.
“I haven’t had a good life but I’ve lived my freedom. My brother lives his hell every day, I won’t stop until I see him free,” she concludes.
