By Darrell R. Santschi and Craig Shultz
Staff Writers [email protected] | [email protected] More than 200 people gathered on a Hemet cul-de-sac Tuesday evening, Jan. 15, near the spot in East Hemet where multiple attackers stabbed a 16-year-old boy who would later succumb to his injuries. Eric Sargeant Jr. was pronounced dead at 10:17 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14, in Riverside County Regional Medical Center of wounds suffered in the attack, according to the Riverside County coroner’s office. The boy, a student at Hemet High School, was found at 4:45 p.m. near the intersection of Acacia Avenue and Cherrywood Drive and was airlifted to the county hospital. Witnesses told deputies they saw three or four youths in dark clothing at- tack the boy and flee through a vacant field northwest of the intersection, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. The suspects were still at large Tuesday. A mostly teenage crowd congregated on Cherrywood Drive, which is north of Acacia, between Yale and Columbia avenues. They held candles, placed candles on the curb and signed a notebook and cross. Occasionally, one would address the group. Eric’s mother, Melissa Lansing, said her son was a fun-loving boy who was fun to be around. “He was a good person,” she said. “He made everybody laugh. He was there for everybody; a good kid.” Jacob Moore, an 18-year-old senior at Hemet High, said his friend always stood up for what he believed in. He said he didn’t like Eric when they met, but “I ended up falling for how funny he is. It’s going to be a hard time not to see him anymore.” Breanna Herrera, a 17-year-old sophomore at Hemet, spoke in front of the crowd, saying that Eric will live on in their hearts. “Eric is always going to live in our memory,” she said later. “He’s going to live through us.” She didn’t hesitate when asked what she will miss most about her friend of six years. “His laugh,” Herrera said. “He was the sweetest kid,” added Raven Rose Moreno, a 15-year-old sophomore. “You couldn’t ask for a better best friend.” Moreno said Eric was there for her after her father died when they were students at Dartmouth Middle School. Karen Cocchiaro, a longtime family friend, was taken aback by the apparent senselessness of the attack and was saddened by the uptick in crime in the community. “When I first moved to Hemet, I could leave my car unlocked. Now you can’t go out after it gets dark,” she said. “For a child in the daylight not to be able to walk outside, it’s a sad, sad day.” Herrera told the crowd to leave the search for the perpetrators to the police. “No more violence,” she said. “Let’s get along and let the authorities take care of it.” Earlier Tuesday, officers were combing a field near where the teen was found. Canine units from Murrieta and Ontario were present, along with a number of Riverside County deputies. Sheriff’s Department spokesman Albert Martinez said officers were trying to find witnesses to the stabbing. Lansing said she is hopeful that whoever committed the crime is captured. “I just want them to find whoever did this,” she said. “Find them and put them away for life. … If anybody knows anything, please, just come forward. Just let us know so we can have some peace.” Besides his mother, Eric is survived by a 12-year-old brother, Carter. Hemet High School Principal Emily Shaw said grief counselors were at the school Tuesday. She also recorded a phone message that was sent to the homes of students. Eric’s death is the latest in a string of tragedies at Hemet High School. Two female students committed suicide last school year and a number of students were injured when they were struck by a truck while crossing the street during the last week of classes in May. Follow Darrell R. Santschi on Twitter @DarrellSantschi and online at blog. pe.com/crime-blotter 
Eric Sargeant Jr.
CRAIG SHULTZ/STAFF A teenager places flowers at a cross during a vigil for Eric Sargeant Jr. Breanna Herrera, a Hemet High classmate said “Eric is always going to live in our memory.”