CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Some Corpus Christi residents said they were all happy to see a jury convict Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin on murder charges in the death of George Floyd.
Veronyka Ybarra was among a handful of people watching the verdict come down on a television at Vernon's Bar and Restaurant.
“It brings his family a sense of peace as well as his family and the community," she said.
Ybarra also said that she hopes the guilty verdict will prevent a situation like Floyd's from happening again.
Alex Lugo agreed with her.
"We need to hold people accountable," she said. "This is just a step, and hopefully a precedent for us to continue."
RoJohnathan Smith says the jury convicting Chauvin in Floyd's death means that justice is served.
But the young African American man, who said police have treated him unjustly in the past because of his race, balked at the idea of the conviction inspiring changes in that regard.
"I don’t think it will help at all," he said. "The police will do what they want."
Ybarra maintains hope that today's events will keep history from repeating itself, and that Floyd's death will not be in vain.
"He was helpless," she said. "And I don’t think that situation should have been handled that way.”
