ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — This Christmas could be a tough one for a local boy who had an incredibly hard year.
His mother, Tania Wise, was found dead in a roadside ditch over the summer and pregnant with her second child. The baby’s father is accused of killing her.
On Friday afternoon, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office decided to give 8-year-old Jamar Wise a surprise to lift his spirits through his first Christmas without his mother.
"She would’ve been super exited to see her son just so happy,” said Jamar’s grandmother, Elizabeth Bedolla.
A St. Lucie County deputy dressed up as Santa, and with the sheriff and other deputies on scene, they delivered a bag full of presents to Jamar, and a bicycle.
“We love to see him happy. That’s what we strive for, he’s a really good kid. He’s good in school,” Bedolla said.
Sheriff Ken Mascara said this surprise is the result of a close bond between Jamar and his school resource deputy.
“Our deputy learned this boy had a concern about Christmas this year with his mom not being here, so the deputy brought those concerns to us, and we said we’re going to make Christmas for this little boy,” Mascara said.
Jamar even told Santa he wants to be a cop when he grows up.
As Jamar grows up, Mascara hopes he will continue to be everyone’s priority.
“With the attention on the accused and the court dates, we forget the damage that’s left behind, and in this instance, you have this little boy. He needs to be our focus,” said Mascara.
The man accused of killing Wise, Jose Soto Escalera, was indicted by a grand jury this week and will face the death penalty in a double first-degree murder trial.
