Three suspects arrested in Santa Cruz charged with murder of five-year-old girl in Fremont
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV)- UPDATE ON APRIL 15, 2023, AT 2:01 PM- The suspects charged in a freeway shooting that claimed the life of a 5-year-old girl in Fremont targeted the wrong vehicle, authorities said.
District Attorney Pamela Price said the three suspects, alleged gang members, thought they were shooting at a rival gang on the night of April 8 when they fired into a car on Interstate 880, killing little Eliyanah.
The suspects, identified as Humberto Anaya, Kristo Ayala Valderrama and Emmanuel Sarango, flashed gang symbols before purposely firing into the car filled with Eliyanah and five other people, authorities said.
Eliyanah was sitting next to her brother, when the bullet pierced through her heart.
Eliyanah and her family were on their way to a family birthday dinner when tragedy struck.
The suspects were driving a red Honda Accord at the time of the deadly shooting and that vehicle was later located in Santa Cruz, where they were caught and arrested, the California Highway Patrol said.
The three suspects were charged with murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle.
At a press conference on Monday, Price said they face 45 years to life behind bars.
Authorities also said 15 minutes before the killing of Eliyanah, the suspects were involved in another shooting in Fremont.
Prosecutors said a man was walking on Fremont Boulevard when suspect vehicle, the red Honda Accord, drove by. One of the occupants commented on the red clothing the man was wearing, authorities said. Then two suspects got out of the car and one of them shot at the man as he ran away, prosecutors said. The victim as not injured.
Prosecutors believe Anaya, Valderrama, Sarango were involved in that incident. For their alleged roles in that shooting, they were charged with felony assault with a semiautomatic firearm.
Update provided by KTVU
Three suspects arrested in Santa Cruz in connection with five-year-old girl killed on I-880
UPDATE ON APRIL 14, 2023, AT 2:35 PM- Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the shooting death of a 5-year-old girl on Interstate 880 in Fremont while heading out to dinner with her family, court records show.
The bullet struck her heart as she sat next to her brother, according to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.
Humberto Anaya, 29, and Emmanuel Sarango, 27, and Kristo Valderrama are expected in court on Friday in Dublin. They were charged with one count of murder and seven counts of shooting at an occupied vehicle.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office said Humberto Anaya, Kristo Ayala Valderrama and Emmanuel Sarango were each charged with one count murder, for the girl's death. They were additionally charged with seven counts each of shooting at an occupied vehicle, as well as additional charges from an unrelated assault earlier that day.
According to the District Attorney's Office, the defendants flashed gang signals and fired into the car Eliyanah was riding in with her family, believing it was a rival gang car.
“My heart goes out to Eliyanah’s family. There is no reason young children should die on our Bay Area freeways,” District Attorney Pamela Price said in a news release. “This behavior is absolutely unacceptable.”
Sources tell our sister station KTVU the men are alleged gang members.
The three men were arrested after two shootings in Fremont on April 8, one on Fremont Boulevard near Norris Road and the other on I-880, in which Eliyanah Crisostomo, 5, was shot and killed while riding with her family to Outback Steakhouse.
Suspects in both shootings left Fremont in a red car that was stopped hours later by Santa Cruz police with the help of CHP officers and Scotts Valley police.
This was written with help from KTVU and KPIX.
Three suspects that were arrested in Santa Cruz are not in connection with five-year-old girl being shot and killed on I-880
A 5-year-old girl who was heading to a birthday party with her family was struck and killed by gunfire on Saturday night in a vehicle on Interstate 880 in Fremont.
Our sister station KPIX said that at approximately 6:40 p.m., an officer assigned to the CHP's San Jose Area office was conducting a traffic enforcement stop on I-880 in the Fremont vicinity. The officer was approached by victims of a freeway shooting who advised that a child in their vehicle was struck by gunfire.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office confirmed the five-year-old girl's identity as Eliyanah Crisostomo.
On Saturday night, Santa Cruz Police arrested three people alleged to have a part in two shootings in Fremont on Saturday night.
However, CHP-Golden Gate confirmed to our sister station KPIX that Santa Cruz PD created that post using information from an incident in Fremont (not ours) and crossed our two incidents.
CHP-Golden Gate is still the lead agency involved in that shooting.
Original Story
Santa Cruz Police said that three people wanted in relation to two shootings in Fremont earlier were arrested after being spotted in Santa Cruz Saturday night.
Police said an officer spotted a vehicle associated with the crimes near Ocean Street and Water Street at around 9:32 p.m. Police said one of the shootings involved the murder of a 6-year-old child.
Santa Cruz Police requested backup while following the vehicle onto Highway 17 and initiating a car stop, said police. Police said during the chase, they noticed the suspect throwing a firearm out of the car.
The suspected driver stopped a little while later. CHP and Scotts Valley Police assisted during the high-risk traffic stop.
Three occupants were taken into custody, said police. All three were arrested and handed to Fremont Police.
The firearm was also eventually found.
