Women honored for bravery, risking their lives to help strangers

Two women who helped secure convictions in separate murder and violent stalking cases were honored today by Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman for their actions assisting victims and law enforcement.

Mia Overstreet, 18, and Melissa Par, 32, received Courage Awards during a ceremony Wednesday hosted by the Rotary Club of Westchester at the Westchester YMCA.

“It is an honor to recognize Mia Overstreet and Melissa Par’s courage and commitment to justice for victims they had never met, at great personal risk,” Hochman said in a statement. “These cases show the critical role of witnesses and their testimony in our criminal justice system.”

Overstreet was 15 when she intervened in the August 2024 attack of a woman who was being strangled by a stalker outside her Torrance home, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

She was awakened in the middle of the night by her barking dog and the sound of a woman screaming in the street. Overstreet looked outside and saw the attack, then ran from her home to help the woman, prosecutors said.

Luis Jacobo had been stalking and harassing the victim, calling her hundreds of times a day, appearing uninvited at her home and workplace and leaving unwanted notes and flowers, according to prosecutors.

On the night of the attack, Jacobo was waiting for the woman as a friend dropped her off after they went to the movies. He forced his way into the friend’s car, took the victim’s phone, dragged her from the vehicle and began strangling her, prosecutors said.

As the woman was losing consciousness, Overstreet ran toward Jacobo and demanded that he get off the victim. Jacobo stopped the attack and approached Overstreet before fleeing to his car, prosecutors said.

Nearly two years later, Overstreet testified at Jacobo’s trial. He was convicted by a jury in May of stalking and related crimes and sentenced in June to 22 years and eight months in state prison.

Par was honored for helping authorities identify and convict a man who fatally shot a 17-year-old boy and seriously wounded his cousin in Baldwin Hills more than four years ago.

Angel David Flores Trevino, who was visiting from Mexico, was riding in a vehicle with his mother, aunt and cousin on June 18, 2022, when Prince David Matt pulled alongside their vehicle and opened fire, according to prosecutors. Trevino suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head and died in his mother’s arms, while his cousin was seriously wounded but survived.

About 25 minutes after the shooting, Matt parked his SUV near Par’s home, roughly two miles from the shooting scene, and asked to use her phone while she was unloading her car, prosecutors said.

Par received a notification from a safety app about a nearby shooting and realized Matt could be the suspect. After noticing his vehicle had a flat tire, she approached it to verify the license plate, then went to a nearby fire station for help and contacted 911, according to prosecutors.

Par later provided investigators with surveillance video from her home, identified Matt and testified at both his preliminary hearing and trial, prosecutors said.

A jury convicted Matt in 2024 of murder, attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and other charges and allegations. He was sentenced in 2025 to life in state prison.

The District Attorney’s Office Courage Awards, formerly known as the Courageous Citizen Awards, were established in 1986 to recognize people who demonstrate exceptional bravery and selflessness by assisting victims or criminal prosecutions, preventing crimes or helping authorities apprehend suspects.