Agustine “Gus” Vegas Agustine “Gus” Vegas was killed in his own home after a domestic dispute with his grandson’s father. The night before his death, Vegas spent the day house hunting with his wife Sandra Vegas. Now, packing to move into a new house without her husband, Sandra stood surrounded by boxes of his belongings. A certain calm settled on the day and despite all the quiet commotion, the memory of her husband kept a light flaring in Sandra’s eyes. “He was my soul mate,” she said. “And we made it ‘till death do us part.” Over 1,000 people attended Vegas’ memorial service held at the Church on the Hill in Vallejo on Friday Feb. 12 to say their goodbyes and to show their love and support to his family. The little church busted at the seams to accommodate the some thousand people whose lives Vegas touched. “He was a great support system for me,” said Sandra. With the help and support of her husband, Sandra launched a nonprofit foundation called Foster Greatness, geared toward spreading awareness about the needs of foster teens. Through this program Vegas and his wife send foster children to summer camps, help them go home for the holidays, and supply gifts and necessities that may be otherwise inaccessible to them. Vegas and his wife have 10 children of their own but are known for their revolving doors that are always opened to youth in need of a place to stay. “We were never foster parents in writing but we were foster parents in heart,” said Sandra. Aside from helping foster children, Vegas helped train and mentor youth volunteers who served as underage decoys exposing complacent alcohol clerks. Rochelle Monk, City of Richmond Community Services Director, and mother of a youth decoy volunteer said that Vegas always went above and above to mentor and support her daughter and the other volunteers. “He made sure there was a genuine interest in our youth,” Monk said. By Jade ShoJaee Monk also said that Vegas played a huge role in the restructuring of John F. Kennedy Park. “He provided a thorough analysis and worked with us closely on crime prevention through environmental design,” said Monk. According to Monk, Vegas provided key input regarding tree placement and landscape design. Much of the input he provided was incorporated into the overall design process which has ultimately made the park a safer place for children to play. “We even removed trees because he demonstrated that if someone were running into the park, this is where they could hide,” said Monk. Though he got off to a late start, Vegas had always dreamed of becoming a police officer. With 10 children and a wife to support he was reluctant to make the career jump but when he did he thrived in his roles as a homicide detective, an officer, and a firearms and tactics instructor. His fellow officers said he was known around the police department for his passion for marksmanship and his persistence and dedication to offering the best possible tactics training. Officer Michael Rood of the Richmond Police Department said that Vegas also impacted the department on a technical level by consolidating all paper files to one digital database and maximizing efficiency for officers in the regulatory unit. “We have to have documents that ensure businesses are in compliance. If something happens and we lose a document it’s problematic but now all of the documents have been scanned into a digital folder,” said Rood. “There were no shortcuts with Gus. I knew that once I asked him to do something I didn’t have to worry. It would get done the correct way.” “It’s a big loss,” said Rood. “It’s something that I can’t describe. He was known to be bullheaded at times, but you loved him for what he stood for.” A GoFundMe account has been set to the help the Vegas family. For more information, https://www.gofundme.com/ RPDVegas.
Contra Costa Marketplace - June 2016
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