Francisca Mayen is still haunted by what she discovered last month: her teenage son’s body, covered with a tarp in an abandoned house.
Rodrigo Floriano Mayen, a 17-year-old high school student, had been missing for days. The Gwinnett medical examiner found drugs in his system but hasn’t determined a cause of death. Rodrigo’s anguished mother, an immigrant from Honduras, took time off from her shift at a plastics manufacturer Thursday night to beg police to find out what happened.
“I want them to see that I’m here, that I’m fighting, and that I will keep on fighting,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Spanish. “What I’m after is justice.”
She was among the residents who criticized the Gwinnett County Police Department’s handling of open cases during a town hall meeting geared toward the county’s large Hispanic community. The forum, held at a Norcross church, followed a spate of youth killings and overdose deaths across Gwinnett, including the case of 16-year-old Susana Morales. Her remains were recently found and Miles Bryant, a since-fired Doraville police officer, has been arrested and charged with murder and other counts.
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
“The initial information we received was that there was a possibility that Susana had run away,” Gwinnett Police Chief J.D. McClure said. “As more facts became available, that case transitioned to a (case) where we suspected foul play could be involved.”
His department was devastated after the remains of the Meadowcreek High School junior were discovered last month, he said.
“Making an arrest in that case is something that brings justice to the situation,” said McClure, who called the case “an unspeakable tragedy.”
Residents told him they feel their concerns are often overlooked or even neglected by detectives. McClure tried to reassure them, saying they could trust the police and that he wanted to build relationships.
He noted that his department has found undocumented immigrants reluctant to report crimes right away or even speak with police, and sought to allay fears.
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@
“It is not our job to deport, to check immigration status,” said McClure, whose remarks were translated into Spanish. “We just want to come and help. Victims of crime should never be afraid to come forward.”
Zaida Garcia, who said has been searching for her sister Selena, 25, since she went missing last October, was among the crowd of about 150 who attended the gathering.
“Does a criminal background or ethnicity change the way you perceive a person, especially when they are missing?” Zaida Garcia asked. “She is not missing because she wants to be, OK?”
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@
“We’ve never stopped looking for Selena,” said Maj. Eric Wilkerson, commander of criminal investigations. “We’re not gonna stop looking for her.”
Ana Montalvo, a Norcross mother, fought back tears as she discussed the loss of her 15-year-old daughter, Ximena, who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2021.
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
McClure said that when the evidence supports it, detectives work with the district attorney’s office to bring felony murder charges against dealers whose illicit sales lead to fatal overdoses.
He said there’s a possibility that whoever sold drugs to Rodrigo Floriano Mayen could be charged with murder. The teen’s grieving mother, who said it’s been hard to get updates on the case, has attended recent rallies demanding justice for Rodrigo and other Latino youths who have gone missing.
“If they had been Americans, they would have rallied more with the community,” Francisca Mayen said. “I feel we are being put to the side.”
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@
Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@
Mayen was headed to work after the meeting; her shift ends at 2:30 a.m. Her commutes home have become fraught with anxiety lately, and she wakes up constantly to check footage from the security cameras she’s set up outside her home, she said.
“There’s this fear that has gotten into me,” she said. “Y una desconfianza.” And a lack of trust.
