The three suspects linked to an April 2023 freeway shooting in the East Bay that took the life of a five-year-old girl were scheduled to appear in court in Alameda County Wednesday.

The victim in the case, five-year-old Eliyanah Crisostomo, was in the backseat of a car traveling with her family to an Outback Steakhouse in Fremont for a family birthday celebration. The car was shot up by suspects while traveling on I-880 in Fremont, and Eliyanah was fatally struck by a bullet.

The case was one of two freeway shootings that killed children that came before former District Attorney Pamela Price's office during her two-year tenure in the DA's office, and both were flashpoints in the campaign to recall her.

Price filed murder charges against the suspects with gang and gun enhancements, but she was dogged throughout her tenure for her stance against special-circumstances enhancements, and against the over-charging of felonies. And just days before this shooting, Price announced she was "reviewing" the cases against some gang suspects who were linked to the November 2022 killing of toddler Jasper Wu, also on I-880, who was allegedly killed amid crossfire by two vehicles on the freeway.

In that announcement, she referred to "non-carceral forms of accountability," which enraged many people over the idea that the suspects might not face the stiffest pentalties, or jail time at all.

Price, fighting against her own recall, gave a press conference in June 2024 to reassure the public that the three men tied to the killing of Crisostomo were facing murder charges with enhancements, and were nowhere near being set free. But it seems the rumors that the men face charges that could see them getting out of jail someday persist, and Crisostomo's mother speaks to KTVU ahead of a court hearing saying she hopes they face the stiffest penalties possible.

"There are some crimes that you can rehabilitate the criminals [for], but there’s no coming back from killing a child at all," says Sophia Crisostomo, to KTVU. She is hoping they will ultimately be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

The three men who have been in custody for the crime for nearly two years already are Humberto Anaya, Kristo Ayala Valderrama, and Emmanuel Sarango. One or more of them allegedly flashed Sureño gang symbols while driving alongside the Crisostomos' vehicle, and one of them shouted "Sureño" when the shooting began — suggesting a case of mistaken identity and gang rivalry.

Sophia Crisostomo tells KTVU that she is concerned that the new interim DA, Royl Roberts, or whoever is installed to fill Price's seat long-term, won't pursue the stiffest charges possible in the case, though there's been no indication of that so far.

Roberts gave a statement to the station in December saying, "I realized that the voters have spoken, and I think it’s important that we listen to the voices of those that have spoken."

Evidence in the cases against Anaya, Valderrama, and Sarango was being heard today by a judge who will determine if the case will go forward to trial.

Previously: DA Pamela Price Reassures Public That Men Who Allegedly Shot Five-Year-Old Will Be Held Accountable