STOCKTON - Misty Holt-Singh, the innocent victim of a shootout following a botched bank robbery in Stockton last summer, was honored with the dedication of a marble bench Friday evening.
"This tragedy touched everybody in Stockton and this is just a little way for everybody to heal," said Holt-Singh's husband Paul Singh, moments after the bench dedication.
Holt-Singh was taken hostage on July 16, 2014, as three robbers fled a north Stockton bank. The robbers led police on an hour-long car chase before their car was disabled. The suspects and police officers then got into a shootout -- Holt-Singh was hit 10 times as Stockton police fired 600 rounds at the suspects. The suspects allegedly used Holt-Singh as a human shield.
Two of the suspects were killed in the gunfire. Surviving suspect Jaime Ramos, who allegedly held Holt-Singh as a human shield, survived and is facing multiple murder and attempted murder charges.
At the dedication, about 80 family members, friends and even strangers who showed up for the unveiling stood in a soft Delta breeze beneath a small grove of redwood trees spreading their branches above the marble bench.
Singh's mother, Karen Farmer said her daughter would have appreciated the bench and said it's dedication has helped her deal with her loss.
"I lost faith in our system, in people, in everything and it means a lot to know that this city, community, can come together and help do something like this," Farmer said.
The bench along Thornton Road in North Stockton is dedicated to, "Our Beloved Misty Holt-Singh. November 8, 1972-July 16, 2014, From Your Loving Family and Friends.
On the back the bench is inscribed with the expression, "I love you more."
Holt-Singh's sister, Dawn Holt, who is battling cancer, said she had that inscription put there because the two used to one-up each other when they were little, by saying, "I love you more," over and over to one another.
