Eric Acosta, 36

Our world is a sadder place without him, He was loving and kind and would take the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was always their for his family and friends. Their is such a void in our hearts without him.
HEAVEN MUST OF NEEDED A HERO, SO THEY TOOK OUR LOVING ERIC.

As a kid you meet and make a lot of friends at school, in the neighborhood, but a lot of friends were made at El Sereno Park. The thing about making friends at El Sereno Park was that you didn’t know if your friendship would only last one season. But there is something about being apart of a team that creates a strong bond. For our team, we would see each other about 5 to 6 days out of the week; practice and games. It came to a point where we would see each other more than some family members; as a result, we became family. I met Eric in 1985 as {we} Eric, Sal and I were apart of the Cubs.
Eric was a great competitor and he was the type of player that did not complain, even when he had blood blisters on his index finder. I enjoyed being his catcher due to his competitive nature. Whether the pitch I called was up and in, low and inside, down the middle or we just did not like a kid, he always threw what I called and we both enjoyed that. The thing that Eric would do that I thought was very funny, was after every pitch, he would adjust his hat and tuck in his hair, always making sure that he looked good for the next pitch. That drove our coaches {my dad and my uncle} crazy.
At El Sereno Junior High, we kept up with the trends: it was tight tucked in pants, knit sweaters from Mervyns, turtle necks, collared shirts with colored muscle shirts, Reeboks with the straps, and of course you can not forget the hair. Eric always had the perfect hair and we all wondered, why? Well, stored in his locker, he always had gel, Aqua Net (unscented, super-hold, or ultra-hold), a mirror and a few brushes. His locker became our refreshing zone.
During High School we drifted apart, and I have always wondered how that happened. When we began to talk to again, we really never spoke too much about high school. It wasn’t a big deal to him. What mattered most was that we never forgot each other and because of this we were able to continue our friendship and create new memories.
Eric was always there. When I was in school at San Diego State, he was there visiting. When I needed to go to my graduation practice and I did not want to go alone, he was there. When I had a family function, party or barbeque, he was there. When I needed a ride in the early morning hours, he was there. When we needed a vehicle to go to Ensenada, he was there. When we played softball on Thanksgiving morning, he was there. When I had extra Dodgers tickets, he was there. When we moved to Glendora, he was there. When we went to our last USC game, he was there. And when I couldn’t finish my beer, he was there.
Eric was an overall great person; he enjoyed life and always wanted the best for everyone. The bond that he created with me and many others will never be forgotten. I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to share a brotherhood with him. I will always cherish the wonderful memories that we shared with family and friends.

He is missed very much and always will be in our hearts. Eric gave the gift of life as he was a organ donor. His life was taken from him but he gave a 2nd chance of life to those who received his organs. That was the kind of person my brother was, would do anything to help out a family member or his friends even a stranger. His is our GUARDIAN ANGEL now. A GOLDEN HEART STOPPED BEATING, LAYING LOVING HANDS TO REST. GOD BROKE OUR HEARTS TO PROVE TO US HE ONLY TAKES THE BEST.

Eric, baby brother, best friend, and so much more! We shared many good times eating out at restaurants, shopping, yes Eric would endure the hours of shopping at the mall going from store to store. I enjoyed just sitting and talking and laughing with him. His smile would always melt away your troubles. He always had a big hug and kiss when he greeted you and when he said goodbye. He was a very special young man who is greatly missed by us all.
"LOVE LIVES ON" THOSE WE LOVE REMAIN WITH US FOR LOVE ITSELF LIVES ON, AND CHERISHED MEMORIES NEVER FADE, BECAUSE A LOVED ONE'S GONE. THOSE WE LOVE CAN NEVER BE MORE THAN A THOUGHT APART, FOR AS LONG AS THERE ARE MEMORIES, THEY'LL LIVE ON IN OUR HEART.
Love,Hugs & Kisses Always, Sylvia

Updates? Know who did this?

What gang did he belong too?

Knew and hung out with Eric in junior high, I have nothing but good memories of him from always being the best dressed to walking home after school with a group of us, stopping by the convenience store on the way, buying candy and soda and a bag of chips, we'd all share sometimes. He was a good guy. Lost touch with him after junior high, saddened to hear about his passing. God bless him.

He didn't belong to any gang you moron!!

Ben - what a nice tribute...I am sorry for your pain.

There is something horribly wrong with our court system when the individual responsible for taking my uncles life and almost another only gets 7 years!!SMH

— Nick Magallanes
What are the details?

— Nick Magallanes .... and why should you be surprised? The legislature is dominated by liberals who sympathize with criminals and not the victims. They can make the laws to put away the violent criminals. But they don't.

You want change? Remember you feelings come election day and vote those incumbents out!

Nick Magallanes, it's time for an overhaul of our justice system. Start by firing all the judges!

Nick,

I'm with you on that. I had a friend that was killed by his roommate with a bat. He only got 7 years and was out in a flash. It devastated everyone, it just isn't right.

What's wrong with an eye for an eye? If anything it will be a deterrent for future incidents. Maybe they'll think twice if they know the punishment is equal. I just wish we as a society weren't so soft. Syscom and Jag are right, it has to start there.

So sorry about your loss. Reading Ben's excerpt, he reminds me of many of my friends.

RIP Eric

syscom3, I agree with your posting 100%.

@Ben, Your tribute and the memories you shared about your friend are the best i've ever seen on this site. Thank you.

@sissycom3 As usual your incoherent rants are useless, they are like the boy who cried wolf.... no one is listening to you. If the experts profiled you: Lonely female, hates men, has a hatred for people of color, low self esteem, homicidal/suicidal ideations, loner, etc etc etc

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

Men why u ask what gang he wast from .u are Pentejo who ever wrote the t...n yea justices is blind..they just kill my sobrino n im in tijuana n i know who did it polices knows who did it to but they dont care ..,my sobrino wast only 18 years old n he didnt gang band ..r.i.p..juan archilla i love u ..miss u alat ur tio ..god will take care u u were a good kid with alat drrams

— Erwin enrique alvarado
What???