By admin 
Andrea Prasad pondered what her father Alvin Prasad would have worn if he’d attended the vigil held Thursday evening in his memory.
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Alvin Prasad died Dec. 28 at 58, several weeks after he was left comatose following a beating in Lavender Heights in the early hours of Nov. 1, 2025. His alleged attacker, Sean Wesley Payton, faces trial next year, according to Andrea Prasad.
Sacramento County District Attorney prosecutors in their November court filing alleged Payton attacked Alvin Prasad because of his sexual orientation. They included hate crime charges over the incident.
Andrea Prasad’s father came out when she was a teenager. On Thursday, she put on a bright pink jacket and made her way to the patio of Lola’s Lounge, a Puerto Rican restaurant on 16th Street near the Tower Theatre. There Prasad, 31, joined around 20 other people, some of whom had also known her father and his love of dressing creatively.
“He would probably be in a skirt, that much I can definitely say,” Andrea Prasad said. “He’d probably want to match the restaurant. Maybe wear something a little floral to match the vibe of the place. But he really liked colors, which is why I went with color and I dressed up a lot.”
Remembering Alvin Prasad
David Heitstuman, CEO of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, said he had met Alvin Prasad a handful of times through the center, where Prasad had participated in groups and events.
“He was very passionate, both personally and in his expression,” Heitstuman said. “He wasn’t afraid to share his opinions about things.”
Heitstuman added, “I just really appreciated his free spirit.”
Jacques and Abi Abad, a gay couple of more than 50 years who live in Rancho Cordova, became friends with Alvin Prasad in the final years of his life.
“He was gentle,” Jacques Abad said. “He was jovial in a mellow sort of way. Had a beautiful laugh.”
Abi Abad said that Alvin Prasad dressed imaginatively and creatively and that “we both love to dress up.” He became emotional when he said how shocked he had been to learn of what had happened to his friend.
Safety in Lavender Heights neighborhood
Shahed Mustaz’afeen, who volunteers with Lavender Angels, a group that patrols Lavender Heights two nights a week, was also present.
“We started showing up honestly to be a deterrence to people getting attacked in the Heights,” Mustaz’afeen said. “And then with that we’ve paired outreach because it’s needed and it’s important. But a lot of it was just people kept getting harassed, attacks, hate crime, whatever you want to call it, and the city’s not doing what we consider enough.”
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In September, Mayor Kevin McCarty spoke at a news conference outside of Faces Nightclub to announce a security patrol by a private company in Lavender Heights. The move followed another high-profile attack in the neighborhood, on city employee Joseph Sais.
Alvin Prasad was also a public employee. He worked 20 years for the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance, according to his obituary.
His vigil was held at Lola’s Lounge after Andrea Prasad made a plea on social media “for a kind local business, restaurant, or venue in the Sacramento area that might be willing to open up their outdoor space, patio, or property for a few hours so we can host this remembrance gathering.”
She explained that to hold the event in a public plaza or park would have been prohibitively expensive. Lola Serrano, general manager of Lola’s Lounge, which her mother owns, said the business’s patio was provided free of charge, after she came across Andrea Prasad’s plea, which was reposted by Lavender Angels.
“The fact that it even happened in a place in Lavender Heights where you’re supposed to feel safe is the worst part about it,” Serrano said. “As I was reading it, it really broke my heart.”
Gathering to remember her father was important to Andrea Prasad.
“It means the world,” she said. “I’ve been kind of quiet about a lot of things, so it means a lot to speak up again and put something together, even if it’s small. My dad really liked celebrations, so I feel like this would be something he’d like. He liked little areas and restaurants that gave a whole new vibe, so I feel like this really kind of helps show who he was.”
She was out with him the night he was fatally attacked, outside of Badlands bar and dance club. Her father was her best friend, she said, and she missed going dancing with him.
“He was a great dancer,” Andrea Prasad said. “I loved his dancing so much. He was so confident. No one could tell him he was a bad dancer.”
She plans to testify at the upcoming trial for Payton, whose most recent court appearance was Oct. 1, according to Sacramento Superior Court records. He was released from jail in February.
For Heitstuman, Thursday’s vigil was also about awareness.
“It’s important for us to acknowledge that these things still do happen and that despite all the laws and protections that we have here in California, those laws don’t police themselves,” Heitstuman said. “And so it’s up to all of us to continue to fight for equity and justice, and to support one another in community.”
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