DA investigators pitch in to help a Merced family’s Christmas

Llisela Zaragoza smiled Thursday as she watched her children open some of the more than 30 Christmas presents her family received from the investigators of the Merced County District Attorney’s Office.

“Hey, it’s the jackpot!” her 6-year-old son, Javier, exclaimed, holding a colorfully wrapped gift above his head.

Zaragoza, 36, said she was grateful to the men and women from the Merced County prosecutor’s Investigations Unit. “This year has been very hard, not working, and I just wanted to see my kids happy,” Zaragoza told the Sun-Star.

Albert Flores, who has been an investigator for the District Attorney’s Office for 12 years, spearheaded the effort that raised nearly three dozen Christmas gifts for Zaragoza’s family.

It was the first year the prosecution investigators teamed up to help a Merced family during Christmas, but it’s something Flores has done on his own or through other groups for several years.

“It’s the time for giving, that’s really what it’s all about,” Flores said. “It’s not something you do for the attention. When they say, ‘Thank you, you made my Christmas,’ that’s what it’s about.”

Flores worked with Natalie Rios and the Love INC of Greater Merced nonprofit to identity a family with young children that could benefit from a little extra help during the holidays.

Zaragoza said the gesture meant a lot to her and her children, Isiah, 15, Brianna, 11, Javier, 6, Noah, 5, and little Elijah, who is about 3 months old. “I’m just so thankful to Albert Flores and that crew for what they’re doing for my family,” Zaragoza said.

The children were able to open some of their new toys Thursday, but the rest will stay under the family’s festively decorated tree until Christmas morning.

Wayne Hutton, the supervising investigator for the District Attorney’s Office, said he was proud of the generosity of his co-workers, who all pitched in to adopt a family for the holidays.

He said working together to help Merced children have a nice Christmas was just another way for the law enforcement community to help out.

“The police departments and sheriff’s departments do this type of thing every year, but there’s always some families that get missed because of the number of people in need in Merced County,” Hutton said.

“It’s nice to be able to help out, and it’s a good reminder that we’re all part of this community,” he said. “We live here, grew up and work here, too.”

This story was originally published December 18, 2014 at 6:40 PM with the headline "DA investigators pitch in to help a Merced family’s Christmas."