SACRAMENTO, Calif — The family of a mother killed on Valentine’s Day feels relieved as they take a step closer to justice.
The Sacramento Police Department announced the arrest of two people in the death of Chasity Sparkman.
“Not a large relief, but it was a relief,” said Alfonzo Sparkman, Chasity’s father.
The relief comes almost a month later for Alfonzo and his family. His daughter Chasity was shot and killed in the Lake Crest Village shopping center on Florin Road in Sacramento’s Pocket neighborhood.
“I still can’t understand, so I'm still in a daze,” said Alfonzo. “It was frustrating, very frustrating. Active night not knowing what is going on.”
Sparkman says he was blindsided by the heartbreak of losing his daughter, but he's thankful arrests were made.
Family describes Chasity as energetic, outgoing and always with a smile. She leaves behind two kids, 6 and 8-years-old.
“We will never get that back, but we are happy and we cherish the time that God did allow us to be with her,” said NaYana, Chasity’s older sister.
Sacramento police said Isaiah James and Ayonna Burgos, both 25 and from Sacramento, were taken into custody in New York City in connection with the killing.
“Our hope is that, at the very minimum, we can provide some justice to some closure,” said Officer Anthony Gamble with the Sacramento Police Department.
Officer Gamble says they made the arrests with help from the FBI.
“Just because you commit a crime here and you think that you are going to get away by going to another city or another state or across the country — our investigators are really world class, and they are going find you,” said Gamble.
The family said they were surprised the suspects were arrested in New York, but now they are turning their attention to the children as they live life without their mother.
“When they found out, they were relieved just as much as anybody else,” said NaYana when talking about when the children first heard about the arrest. “I know my nephew said that he got some good sleep, so that says everything.”
No court date has been set for James and Burgos. They will need to be extradited to Sacramento. They are both facing homicide charges and possibly more as investigators continue to follow up tips.
Sacramento police have not confirmed the relationship between the suspects and the victim as they are still investigating the crime but the family says the pair arrested are Chasity’s husband and his girlfriend.
A GoFundMe to support Chasity's children is available HERE.
