Neighborhood Reaction to Pena Death is Mixed

By Jonathan Wilson

Police are investigating the apparent suicide of an inmate in the D.C. jail. Josue Pena had been charged earlier this month in the shooting death of a 9-year-old -- Oscar Fuentes.

People in Oscar's neighborhood have mixed emotions about the latest news.

Wilfredo Gonzalez is watching his son Brandon ride a black and yellow bike in front of their apartment building in Columbia Heights. It's just across the street from where Oscar was shot.

Gonzalez says whatever happened to Pena -- will have little to do with the grief felt by Oscar's family.

"Their loss is too big. They lost a son," he says.

Danita Clark walks past Oscar's building on her way to work. She says Pena's sudden death may make it hard for those who loved Oscar to feel a sense of justice.

"He got off easy -- that's the only thing," Clark says. "He should have been punished for it, suffered for it, but he got off a little easy."

The Department of Corrections says Pena was in a special unit of the jail -- supervised by five officers -- for security purposes.