Friends and family were trying to help one of their own. On October 1, more than 40 protesters gathered outside the central court in downtown San Diego to seek justice.

   The protesters were friends and relatives of Esteban Nuñez, the son of former State Assembly member Fabian Nuñez.

    Esteban and one of his friends were sentenced to 16 years in prison in June for their involvement in the murder of a young college student in a fight at a party in 2008.

    But the protesters claimed that Esteban, 21, deserved a lighter sentence because the superior court judge, Robert O’Neill, they say, promised to take into consideration that Esteban was not the one who gave the fatal stabbing and had pleaded guilty in a plea bargain.

    “Judges cannot break their promises,” “Be a man of your word, Judge O’Neill,” read some of the banners carried by demonstrators.

    “The judge made a promise to my nephew and his sentence was not fair,” said Mario Nuñez during the demonstration, Fabian’s brother. “Esteban did not kill anyone, but still received the same sentence as the other guy.”

   Nearly two hours after the event, attended by children, elderly persons, youth, in support of Esteban, it was learned that Judge O’Neill had denied the request for a lesser sentence.

   In a press conference outside the courthouse, Fabian Núñez said the family was considering appealing the judge’s decision.

   Fabian said that this was a terrible situation for all young people involved, including the family of 22-year-old Luis Santos, who died that night in the fight.

   But some family members think that the large sentence Esteban received is because some politicians are against Fabian.

   “They used the name of my brother,” said Mario Nuñez that day.

   Another sister of Fabian Núñez, Rosario, said that this is a witch hunt against her brother, whom, she said, some political forces want to destroy.

   “They want the head of Fabian,” said Rosario. “They do not care to spoil the life of my nephew.”

   Therefore, she said, after the judge refused to reduce the sentence of Esteban, the Nunez family was very upset.

   “We are disappointed because Judge O’Neill didn’t keep his promise that he was going to give a lighter sentence to Esteban after the same judge ruled that Esteban never had contact with Luis Santos and also determined that Esteban did not cause the confrontation,” said Rosario Nuñez.

   The former state assembly’s sister said the next step that the family is considering is to appeal of the case.

   “Since Judge O’Neill and Attorney Bonnie Dumannis did not comply with their promise of a lesser sentence, we will continue to seek justice through the court of appeal.” Although Esteban did not get a lesser sentence that morning, Rosario said the demonstration brought a community together to demand justice.

   “The demonstration was a great success. The truth begins to unfold: First, Judge O ‘Neill and the district attorney broke their promise to treat Esteban differently in sentencing. The community finally learns that Esteban never had any contact with Luis Santos. It was determined by the judge and prosecutors that Esteban did not cause the death of Mr. Santos as he never had contact with him. He does not deserve the maximum sentence.”

   Two other friends of Esteban Nuñez were sentenced to probation for their involvement in the case.