Suspect in murder of 16-year-old arrested on Cherokee Drive
SALINAS, Calif, (KION)
UPDATE 12/10/19 10:29 p.m. The Fresno Sheriff's Office said some sort of family argument may have led up to the shooting of two boys in San Joaquin.
While the suspect, 36 year-old Hileberto Valtierra Jr., is in custody, some neighbors in the area where he was found on Cherokee Drive in Salinas are still concerned.
Valtierra is suspected of fatally shooting a 16-year old boy, Angel Trejo, Monday in San Joaquin and also shooting the victim’s brother who is in his early 20s.
The sheriff's office said Valtierra previously dated the victims’ mother. They gave insight Tuesday night on what could have led up to the shooting.
“As far as we know at this point, it was just a family argument. We just don’t have much more to go on,” said Sgt. Brian Schulte with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
Salinas Police found Valtierra Tuesday during a traffic stop.
Fresno County authorities say Valtierra fled the county and they tracked him to Salinas–a place that may be familiar.
“Well, we know he has family and friends. He’s originally from this area from what it looks like in our research and he just needed a place to lay low and this is where he decided to come,” Schulte said.
All the police activity worried some neighbors KION spoke with Tuesday.
“We are a little afraid because here we have many children. We’ve lived here for four years and something like this has never happened. It’s strange,” said neighbor Maria Jimenez.
Valtierra faces charges including homicide, attempted homicide and assault with a deadly weapon.
Authorities do not know a motive for the crime yet.
The sheriff’s office says the victim in his 20s is in stable condition at a Fresno hospital. They also say there is no threat to the public at this time.
UPDATE 12/10/2019 2:18 p.m. The Fresno County Sheriff's Office, with the help of Salinas police, arrested a man suspected of shooting and killing a 16-year-old San Joaquin boy Tuesday.
They arrested 36-year-old Merced County resident Hileberto Valtierra Jr. on Cherokee Drive.
The shooting happened at around 9 p.m. Monday at an apartment complex in San Joaquin in Fresno County. When deputies got to the complex, they found 16-year-old Angel Trejo, who had been shot and killed.
While deputies were responding, a sheriff's helicopter spotted a car speeding away from the scene. Inside the car was not a suspect, but another victim, the Trejo's brother, and family driving him to the hospital for treatment. An ambulance picked him up and took him to the hospital. He is in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries.
After gathering evidence, detectives identified Valtierra as the suspect. He used to date the victims' mother. They also learned that he might have traveled to Salinas.
The Fresno County Sheriff's Office got a search warrant for a home on Cherokee Drive and Salinas SWAT assisted. When they got there, officers saw a man in a car who matched the description of Valtierra. They pulled the car over near Cherokee Drive and Quintero Circle and confirmed it was him.
Valtierra was arrested and will be transported back to Fresno County. Investigators do not know the motive behind the shooting yet.
Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Adrian Villegas at 559-600-8210.
PREVIOUS STORY: The Salinas SWAT team is assisting an outside agency at a location on Cherokee Drive, according to Officer Miguel Cabrera with Salinas police.
The Fresno County Sheriff's Office said it made an arrest with the help of Salinas SWAT and will be providing more information soon.
There was activity at the location for a few hours, but Cabrera said it is safe and the incident is expected to end soon. Neighbors were asked to stay inside, but Cabrera expects that they will be allowed to leave soon.
