SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Island View Market serves as a living memorial for the violence that shook the Lincoln Park Community.
It was an early Thursday morning, nearly 20 years ago.
On May 1, 2003, a beloved store owner prepared to open what was Dr. J's Liquor Store.
"He was a likable guy. He was a hard worker. A family man," said Tony Johnson, a senior investigator at the San Diego County District Attorney's Office.
Eddie Meram did not know he would be walking into his business for the last time.
"Eddie didn't deserve this. He was a good guy. He was a very good guy," said a witness at the time of the crime.
The neighborhood's go-to store became a crime scene.
The deadly shooting tore apart a family — forcing a young mother to carry the responsibilities of two parents.
"The suspects rushed Eddie at the door," said Johnson.
For Johnson, the case is personal for him because he investigated Meram's murder back in 2003.
"They brought him in along this route here. There was blood on the floor. So — that told us that they had hit Eddie or injured him in some way. They brought him back here, and when you look back here, you see a little door to an office and that's where Eddie was shot and killed," he said.
While he can't say what type of gun was used or how many times Meram was shot, Johnson said it was a high-magazine weapon.
Evidence markers show the spot where the shell casings landed.
"There was some gang violence in this area," said Johnson.
Meram's murder marked the third killing within a five-month period at the liquor store.
"On New Year's Eve, Carol Waites and her friend Sharon Burton were killed in front of Dr. J's Liquor coming home from church," Johnson said.
At the time, ABC 10News reported the women were caught in the crossfire of gang violence.
The shooter behind the two women's deaths was caught, but Johnson doesn't think it was that same person who murdered Meram.
"We're investigating both possibilities, that number one it was a robbery, and number two that there was something more to it. Maybe it was a targeted attack," said Johnson.
Meram's family still runs the liquor store and they keep his memory alive throughout the business. Today, they're asking the suspect a question they've pondered for decades: Why did they kill their loved one?
"We do have surveillance video that captures two suspects rushing Eddie as he enters the doors. The two suspects are basically rushing Eddie as he enters the store. The suspects are wearing jackets. They are possibly wearing gloves," Johnson said.
Outside of what's now Island View Market, Johnson is hoping to tie up loose ends and solve the case before he retires.
He thinks Meram's murder can be solved, and there's a $25,000 reward on the line.
"We're also examining some shell casing for DNA, which we can do now. We didn't have the capability to do that 20 years ago. So, that might break something open for us," he said.
Investigators have not yet sent the casings.
The newspaper clippings remind customers who grew up in the neighborhood to remember the kindness Meram showed.
"Somebody might come into the store a dollar short, and they'd just put the dollar in for people. They'd give candy to the kids. He was a big part of the neighborhood," a customer who knew Meram said.
