CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nueces County Sheriff's Department is mourning the loss of a young man who was sworn recently in as an "Honorary Deputy."
14-year old "Junior" Luis Leal Jr., who fought a very courageous fight against "Ewing's Sarcoma" for three years, passed away Tuesday.
Junior was sworn in by Sheriff J.C. Hooper on June 11, 2021, as an honorary deputy.
“He always had that smile on his face because he didn’t want anybody to know that he was in pain, and he wanted to show everybody, 'hey, you may be going through something but you always come through with a smile on your face.' It makes it that much better," says Crystal Hernandez, Junior's mother.
In a Facebook post, Sheriff Hooper posted, "Our heartfelt condolences to his family and may he lay in eternal peace," and shared their GoFundMe page that raises money for Junior's funeral expenses.
