Detectives from the Santa Maria Police Department are investigating a shooting that occurred on Dec. 30 near the corner of Jones and Bradley streets, just a stone’s throw away from Allan Hancock College.
The shooting happened around midnight, police said. The victim, indentified as 23-year-old Santa Maria resident Terrence Richardson, was driven to Marian Hospital where he later died of his injuries.
Details on the incident are extremely limited and police aren’t saying much. The shooting marked the fourth such death of 2014 for the city and the second within eight days. Before this, 28-year-old Pedro Antonio Lainez-Lopez was found shot inside of a parked vehicle on W. Morrison in the early morning hours of Dec. 22. He died at the scene. Police aren’t saying if the two shootings are connected.
The investigation is ongoing. Police haven’t identified any suspects and have not made any arrests. The day after Richardson’s shooting, SMPD detectives were scouring the corner where the incident occurred.
Anyone with information regarding the two shootings can call the SMPD watch commander at 928-3781, Ext. 297.
This article appears in Jan 8-15, 2015.