#jon hatami

We had the amazing opportunity to join LA County Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami and the Antelope Valley community in celebration of Gabriel Fernandez's 17th birthday yesterday, February 20th, 2022.

Mr. Hatami was actually the prosecutor on Gabriel's case, securing guilty verdicts against both of his murderers. He was featured heavily in the Netflix documentary, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. Every year, he visits the tree outside of the apartment Gabriel lived in - this is now "Gabriel's Tree."

It was surreal to be outside of the very place that such horrendous and unimaginable things happened to a child, what should be a very sad place. But there were also children playing in the grass, laughing. Families and friends reconnecting and hugging. A community making memories. There was also a beautiful flock of birds that flew overhead while a local pastor said a prayer. And, since you can't have a birthday party without cupcakes, all the children attending got a cupcake and a Justice for Gabriel shirt. The cupcake line was very long and a lot of kids had fun at Gabriel's birthday that day, right outside.

After briefly beginning to address the crowd, Hatami paused to check on and console an upset toddler in the crowd. When he continued, his message was:

"I want you all, first, to remember the legacy of Gabriel and as a result of that, go out there and live.

God wants you all to live. Go out there and fight for children. Go out there and be who you want to be. Take care of your children and take care of your family. If you see other children who are in need, help them. Don't be afraid to step forward and help a child, or to help somebody who is vulnerable, or to help somebody who can't help themselves. We are all a part of this community. We are all interrelated and we all need to help each other. We need to all look at Gabriel's legacy. Don't look at Gabriel and what happened to him . . . . Gabriel is looking down on us. He wants you to fight for the children. He wants you to fight. . . . We come here to celebrate Gabriel's life. We come here also to celebrate Gabriel's legacy.

I want you all to know that what is happening in my office, is sad. I've dedicated my life to fighting for children and right now, we have a real major problem where we have someone who doesn't wanna do that. And so we all have to join together. All . . . that's why Los Angeles is so great. We have so many different backgrounds and this community, this city, this county, is worth fighting for. I'm not leaving. I hear so many people are leaving. I'm not leaving! I'm raising my children here. I'm raising my family here. You are all a part of my family. You are.

My door is always open. I'm always here to help. I'm always here, no matter what. . . . All of us together, we are so much stronger. So go out there and live! Live. Do what you wanna do. Be who you wanna be. Always fight for the most vulnerable. Always protect the most vulnerable. Don't be afraid to step forward and do what's right. Sometimes, doing the right thing, is USUALLY the harder thing. It is the more difficult thing to do. But it's the right thing to do. It's the right thing for all of us.

So I want you to celebrate Gabriel's legacy. Celebrate his birthday. Meet one another, talk to Gabriel's family, talk to other families. . . . And live. Go out there and live, 'cause that's what Gabriel would want you to do. He would want you to go out there and live your life. Be a part of this community. Help one another. Fight for one another. I'm gonna keep fighting for you in all these cases. Gabriel is always gonna be a part of me, part of my family. Gabriel's family is my family. You all are. I love this community, and I'm gonna keep fighting for all of you. I'm gonna keep fighting for all of you. I think we all are.

So I love you all, I do. I get re-energized every time I come here. It's sad looking at the apartment, it's sad. But then I think about Gabriel. I think about the fact that he wants us to live and to fight for each other. So I want to thank you all for coming here. I met a pastor, his name is Carlos, he's a pastor out here in Palmdale. I am a believer and my belief is important to me and my family and it helps me get through a lot of the cases that I have. It does give me strength, and so I would ask that if Carlos doesn't mind, that he lead us all in a prayer, before we hear from Gabriel's family."

Please note, it's very windy in the high desert and there was also the unfortunate timing of power tools and an ice cream bell. The spaces with ". . ." are to show that there is a gap in what we could hear.