Central Coast cold cases: Julian Quintero
CASTROVILLE, Calif. (KION)--A mother is still searching for answers three years after her son’s murder.
And with the amount of witnesses around during the crime, officials believe many people know who did it.
They called 20-year-old Julian Quintero "Captain America."
“He liked what Captain America stood for. Captain America stood for people,” says Julian's mother Lupe Calderon.
Lupe tells us Julian really was a superhero, working multiple jobs and still finding time to balance friends and family. And did it all with a smile on his face.
Lupe says Julian wasn’t usually one to go to parties, but on January 22nd 2017 after some convincing from a friend, he went to the house party in the Oak Hills neighborhood of Castroville.
Before Julian left, his mother reminded him if he needed a ride home, to call her and she’d go to get him.
“So when I got the phone call a little bit before midnight, I got a call from his phone and I thought…okay here I go, I’m gonna go pick him up, you know? But then, they told me that he got shot and they were taking him to Natividad,” says Lupe.
“During that party some folks showed up that were not invited to the party and unfortunately a fight broke out when they tried to get into the residence, which led very unfortunately to a shooting in which Julian Quintero was shot and killed," says Monterey County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy John Thornburg.
Despite there being almost ninety people at this party, to this day, there have been no substantial leads that have led to an arrest.
Lupe does believe a better job could have been done in investigating the crime.
"We have things to work on in this case, we have what people know as leads and we are working on those, but because of that, we do know that there are witnesses that haven’t come forward that haven’t shared with us what they know and we will continue to work on the case,” says Thornburg.
Julian’s mother believes even in his last moments, Julian showed his true "Captain America" colors, while protecting others.
“To me he was truly an angel walking on this earth.”
Law enforcement officials say any small detail can be the key to cracking one of these cases, especially with technology playing a part in this day and age.
If you have any info regarding this case, contact the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
If you have a story you think needs to be brought back into the spotlight, send an email to mary.coleman@kionrightnow.com or reach out on social media.
