32 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINE • Late Summer 2018 TheCoastalBend.com Corpus Christians who were shaken when they heard these stories in the news, all within a span of six weeks, might find some comfort in the fact that the crimes were carried out by members of the same, loosely-organized criminal gang. While the La Palmera robbery was a brazen, public event, it was a targeted heist and no one was hurt. The two violent home invasions that took place at private residences on Coleman Ave. and in London Club Estates, were in no way random but were di- rectly associated with the victims’ apparent involvement in the illicit drug trade. The deaths of Deandre Mathis, Arturo Lopez and Miriam Lopez are no less tragic to their families, but any fair and honest-minded person must realize that there are deadly risks to earning one’s living in a black market economy of any variety, whether it be narcotics, gambling, prostitution, property theft or what have you—this is the life and death of an outlaw, as they say. For law-abiding everyday Coastal Benders—those of us doing our best to pro- vide for our families while contributing just a tad to the quality of our community—it is troubling to realize that the friendly but quiet new family down the block could be living a secret life that is, in fact, a magnet for blood lusting violence worthy of Natural Born Killers. To those young enough to exit this way of life, may this spring’s bloodshed serve as proof that the underground life is usually a short life.