By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
“I’ll give you some food,” said Elmer Geovany Lopez Toi as he hands a McDonald’s bag to two homeless men sitting on steps. “I like to help people.,” Toi said to the two men he met in August as he hands them money and more food.
The Wyoming Department of Public Safety is hoping that by releasing the five-minute video, found on Toi’s phone, residents will see Toi’s act of humility and kindness and it will encourage someone in the community to come forward and help solve his murder.
Toi, 20, along with Santos Padilla Banegas, 16, were shot Sept. 16. The two were both shot while walking along Division Avenue near Wilbur Street. The area is north of 44th Street. For an early release, police said they believe the vehicle involved in the shooting could be a dark-colored 2010-11 GMC Acadia.
Police said they believe the Acadia had multiple occupants and was last seen headed south on Jefferson Avenue from Wilbur Street. Officers arrived to find the Banegas and Toi near the road. Toi was pronounced dead at the scene and Banegas died later at Metro Health Hospital from his injuries.
Since then, the Wyoming Public Safety detectives have been working diligently to develop information and follow leads in the double homicide, according to a release from the department.
It was during the investigation, detectives discovered the video on Toi’s phone. According to detectives, the video does not appear to be directly relevant to the investigation, but by sharing the video the department hopes it “will serve as a reminder of the humanity and tragedy of this case.”
“We share this video with our community for two reasons,” said Capt. James Maguffee in a release to the media. “First, it seems right to share a story of a resident of the City of Wyoming, victimized in a horrible crime, engaged in an act of humility and kindness. We expect our community will be moved in the way we were when we saw this video. Second, these sorts of crimes are often solved, and justice served, when citizens with the right piece of information come forward.
According to police sources, Toi was an immigrant to the United States with no family in the area. Through the investigation, there has been no indication thus far that suggest either Banegas or Toi were involved in criminal acts or engaged in behavior that might have invited the violence inflicted on them.
Anyone with information about the case are encouraged to call the Wyoming Department of Public Safety at 616-530-7335 or, if they wish to remain anonymous, Silent Observer at 616-774-2345. A donor has matched the initial cash reward and it now stands at $5,000.
