Salinas double homicide victims identified
UPDATE 1/17/17 3:05 PM: Salinas police released the names of two people who were shot and killed Jan. 12, 2017 on the 500 block of Sunrise Street.
Jose Luis Flores-Vargas, 27, and Alejandro Ramirez, 25, were the third and fourth homicide victims of 2017.
Police also announced that three persons originally detained during the investigation have been released and, at this time, are not facing charges related to the case.
ORIGINAL STORY: “His eyes were closed, and out of nowhere, he just opened up his eyes and they were light blue,” said a witness of Thursday’s double homicide. “I ran up to him tried to push him to the side and he literally died in my hands.”
The witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said his neighbors’ normal family gathering on Sunrise Street was cut short just after 9 p.m., when four people were shot.
Police say a witness told them the suspects fled the scene in a green van, leading to a pursuit in North Salinas, where three men were taken into custody.
“All three of them have been detained throughout this evening, the investigators have been speaking with numerous witnesses of the event, trying to conduct some searches of the vehicle,” said Stan Cooper with Salinas’ Police Department.
On Friday, police revealed more details of the investigation, but the motive remains unclear.
“It definitely has a lot of the indicators of being possibly gang-related, so we aren’t ruling it out at this point,” Cooper.
The mothers of the three men in question also came to the Salinas Police Department looking for answers.
Deborah Sullivan says her son and two nephews, who live with her are the men in custody, and they are not gang members.
“They raided my house. They took my nephews in, (whom) were asleep. They just go to work and come home. They were there, I’ve seen them, they were playing with the grandbabies,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan added she’d never seen the van a witness reported.
“None of my nephews, my son, anyone, has a green van, (or) knows anyone with a green van,” Sullivan said.
But police said they are still interviewing witnesses to figure out how their accounts match up.
Thursday night’s shooting is the second in less than a week, and the third and fourth homicides in Salinas this year. Anyone with information is asked to call the Salinas Police.
Detective Ken Hendrickson
(831)758-7129
Detective Ken Schwener
(831)758-7276
Anonymous Tip Line
(831)775-4222
(800)78-CRIME
