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Family Pleads For Help Solving Stockton Teen's Murder

STOCKTON (CBS13) — Months after a teenager was gunned down outside a home in east Stockton, the killer remains at-large.

Detectives with the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office are working every lead in the hopes of bringing justice to the girl's family. On Thursday, loved ones gathered to make a plea to the community for help.

A gathering of friends down a quiet street in east Stockton on Sept. 29, 2017, turned into a murder scene. Briana Ballesteros,18, was in a car waiting for her boyfriend when she was shot to death.

"My daughter was a very nice young woman, smart and caring. She had her whole life ahead of her," said Yolanda Inzunza-Gastelum, Briana's Mother.

Loved ones say Briana wanted to pursue a career in cosmetology. She was a senior at Cesar Chavez High School and was supposed to be with her classmates at the CCHS graduation ceremony Wednesday at the Stockton Arena.

"I feel like a part of my heart is missing. A month before this happened, the family gathered to celebrate her birthday," she said.

"They can't get over the grief. It's a grief, it's been so recent. For all parents, when you realized when you have a son or daughter, and they are gone, you can't even say goodbye to them and also when they are gone, that is just devastating," said Ezequiel Pena, San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives have been working closely with family members who everyday pray for justice. Investigators urge anyone with information to contact the sheriff's office.

"Every tip is important. Someone out there might think that, oh it's insignificant but that little piece of information might break the case, might give us that little bit where we can go get these perpetrators," he said.

Crime Stoppers is now offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in Briana's murder.

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