Fred and Kathy Santos: Justice for Luis

As much as a violent crime could be a private matter, this one was, at the start: One young man stabbed to death, two more wounded, and four other young men charged with murder.

One of the four defendants was the son of a famous Democratic politician, former Assembly Speaker Fabian NuÃ?±ez. Big-name leaders wrote letters on the son’s behalf. All four defendants plea bargained. Esteban NuÃ?±ez, who wounded victims in the attack, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, as did the defendant who fatally stabbed Luis Santos. Both were sentenced to 16 years.

Then, in early January, on his last evening in office, Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had befriended and worked with Fabian NuÃ?±ez in Sacramento, commuted Esteban’s prison sentence, cutting it nearly in half.

In Concord, Fred and Kathy Santos, the parents of the dead man, are outraged. They lost their son, Luis, and now they feel they’ve lost the justice he was entitled to. The private matter became the catalyst for a very public deal.

What can you tell me about Luis?

Fred: Luis was one of the happiest people you could ever meet. He had so many friends, buddies; everyone wanted to be around him, all ages in our family, the 14-year-old cousin, the 78-year-old grandparents. He could talk with anybody, relate to anybody. A great sense of humor.

Kathy: Great people skills, that’s for sure.

What was he interested in doing?

Fred: He was taking some business classes at Mesa College. He wanted to get a real estate license because it’s not something you do in an office. It’s outdoors; you talk to a lot of people.

Kathy: When he was still in high school, he worked at UC Berkeley, in one of the dining rooms. That was sort of a precursor; originally he was considering going to culinary school. He was accepted at the Cordon Bleu in Pasadena. Then he changed his mind at the last minute.

Fred: He loved cooking; he and I would cook on weekends and holidays. Even when he went away to college, he would call and say, “I’m trying to make this, how do I do it?”

He was a big sports fan. We’re big Raiders fans, and baseball -- he sort of defected and went to the Giants instead of the A’s. Initially, he wanted to go to Duke just because of the basketball team. It had nothing to do with whatever degree they were offering; it was strictly, “Oh, man, I like their basketball team.”

What happened that night? The four attackers had been turned away from a San Diego State frat party. They were angry, and then they encountered Luis.

Kathy: He and his friend were jumped. The papers said it was a fight, but I guess it was fight or flight. They were minding their own business. That’s one thing that has annoyed me -- almost every report said it was a fight. It was not a fight. Our son’s group was jumped.

One account said Luis was overheard bragging that he was “carrying.”

Fred: Neither Luis nor his friends ever carried any weapons. Luis was joking around with his friends that he was “carrying” by grabbing his cellphone. His murderers overheard what was meant to be a private joke. [Police accounts agree that Luis Santos and his friends were unarmed.]

When the attackers were arrested a couple of months after the killing, did you know who Fabian Nu�±ez was?

Fred: Fabian Nu�±ez was one of the most powerful politicians in the state, and apparently he still is. As soon as they told us [Esteban Nu�±ez was involved], in the back of my mind all along the way, I had to make sure that there was no politics involved in the [legal] decisions. So I kept asking, was there any political pressure? [Law enforcement] put together a solid case.

What do you make of the suggestion that Esteban NuÃ?±ez’s high profile as a politician’s son might have made things go harder for him, not easier.

Fred: Until Fabian Nu�±ez had Arnold Schwarzenegger commute the sentence of his son, this case was never about the Nu�±ez family. Esteban Nu�±ez was sentenced for what he [did], regardless of who his father is. Fabian Nu�±ez made this case about who he is when he went to his political crony Arnold Schwarzenegger and fixed the sentence, just as Esteban bragged his dad would.

After the plea agreement, were you satisfied that justice was done?

Fred: Not satisfied, but legally we were finished. We could have gone to trial and we would have gotten a guilty [verdict] and they would have gotten life in prison.

Kathy: And they knew that too, which is why they were so happy to make a plea bargain.

Fred: The judge asked them point blank, “Do you know what you pled guilty for? Did you know that the maximum is 16 years?” And in front of the court, they did. And Fabian NuÃ?±ez was in the courtroom; he knew exactly what his son pled to.

A lot of comments were made about bad parenting; I didn’t look at it that way. His dad didn’t say, “Make sure you take the knife when you go to San Diego.” It was Esteban NuÃ?±ez who took a knife with him. It was Esteban NuÃ?±ez who stabbed people. It has nothing to do with the parents.

And when did you think politics started playing a role?

Kathy: After the sentencing, they started trying to file appeals. One day they staged a big rally [at] the courthouse. Frankly, I think they looked ridiculous.

Before then, there were letters from high-profile people like Antonio Villaraigosa asking for a bail reduction.

Fred: I would not have had a problem if the mayor of Los Angeles wrote a letter on behalf of Esteban NuÃ?±ez as a family friend, but when he put down he was mayor of Los Angeles -- that’s a political favor. Dragging [in] all these people [with] their official titles, that’s not right. They could be family friends and write as private citizens; then I would probably not fault them.

Had you started to heal when the governor reduced NuÃ?±ez’s sentence this month?

Fred: There’s no such thing as healing. Our son was murdered. We were trying to put his murder behind us and maybe begin celebrating his life rather than deal with his death. And then we find out [about the sentence reduction].

How did you find out?

Kathy: A reporter called and asked us for a comment on Arnold’s action. We had no idea what Arnold’s action was.

Fred: Mr. Schwarzenegger robbed us of the justice we received through the judicial system. We are crime victims again. The legal system didn’t fail us. It was dirty politics that failed us. The legal system did what it was supposed to do. I’m not going to let the sleazy side of politics undermine the justice system.

What did you think of the letter Gov. Schwarzenegger sent you, saying he apologized that you had “no notice, no time to prepare for or absorb” his decision.

Kathy: It’s a phony letter. He did it because of the outcry by the public. I don’t think he expected people to be enraged. And I think he was backpedaling. I hope people remember so [NuÃ?±ez and Schwarzenegger] don’t have a political prayer for the future.

The letter is also the basis of the lawsuit you filed against him on Thursday. California’s Victims Bill of Rights, called Marsy’s Law, requires notification for crime victims about sentencing and parole.

Fred: Yes. We had no say [in the commutation]. He broke the law, Marsy’s Law, in commuting the sentence. Even the governor has to follow the law. We want the original sentence. If he had [followed] everything the law says he was supposed to do, then we would not be in this position to file a lawsuit. He did not follow the law, he did not notify us, he did not give us due process.

Did you vote for him?

Fred: No, we’re Democrats.

What about his argument that the system is about dispassionate justice, not a parent’s rage?

Fred: The father’s rage in this case wasn’t my rage. It was Fabian NuÃ?±ez’s rage that undid justice. The legal system worked the way it was supposed to. It found a crime, it found guilty people, and it sentenced them according to the letter of the law. [In the appeals process,] the court said, “You plea bargained; you wanted this sentence.”

Are you saying they already got a break?

Fred: They already got away with murder. Then they got 16 years. You cannot shop for a sentence. That’s not what plea bargaining is all about.

Is this consuming your lives all over again?

Fred: This is something else that we have to deal with. We will not sit by and let Mr. Schwarzenegger and Mr. Nu�±ez subvert the criminal justice system.

It’s been pointed out that there are hundreds of men with similar circumstances behind bars.

Fred: Someone said there are cases similar to Esteban NuÃ?±ez ‘s, and they got [recommended for parole] and Schwarzenegger overruled the parole board.

Kathy: He said they could not be rehabilitated.

Fred: He said [commuting the sentence] was some sort of a humanitarian act. He said this has nothing to do with politics. Don’t tell me he reached into a hat with thousands of names in it and miraculously Esteban NuÃ?±ez’s name got pulled out.

Do you think the pardon powers should be curtailed?

Fred: I don’t know, frankly. There are needs for this kind of commutation -- look at Texas, how many people get sentenced and then later on get released because they found out they were actually innocent. Recently in California, they released somebody because he was innocent. These things happen, and there has to be a way of undoing real injustice. So maybe we need to come up with different kinds of checks and balances to avoid a clear case of abuse.

It sounds as if you still believe government can do the right thing.

Fred: Otherwise there would be chaos. We have to believe in the Constitution, and we have to believe in law and order. There are always a few who think they are above the law. Fabian NuÃ?±ez is one of them. He tried time and time again to say that no, the law hasn’t spoken, I want a different [result] because it’s me.

patt.morrison@latimes.com

This interview was edited and excerpted from a longer taped transcript. Interview archive: latimes.com/pattasks.