Shots rang out in Santa Maria’s northwest side during the early morning hours of Dec. 22. Several people made 911 calls in response, and when police arrived, they found a man inside of a parked car along the 1000 block of W. Morrison. He had been shot several times.
The calls came in around 5:22 a.m. Police officers who arrived at the scene tried to save the man’s life, but he died there. The department has identified the victim as 28-year-old Pedro Antonio Lainez-Lopez. He was killed one day before his birthday, and now police are looking for his killer.
Police aren’t saying much about the killing, except that there’s no information regarding any gang connection at this point. So far, no arrests have been made, and no suspects have been identified as of Monday, Dec. 29, police said.
Police are asking the public for help with this case. Detective Mike Huffman of the Santa Maria Police Department is handling the investigation. Anyone with information can call the watch commander at 928-3781, Ext. 297.
This potentially marks the second homicide of the year for 2014. The first such death occurred less than six months ago; 26-year-old Ismael Jacinto-Cruz was arrested on suspicion of killing a man in August.
In 2013, only three people were killed as a result of homicide or non-negligent manslaughter in Santa Maria.
This article appears in Jan 1-8, 2015.