Richmond man ID'd as Vallejo homicide victim
By Matthias Gafni and Nolan Herbert
MEDIANEWS
The Contra Costa Coroner's Office has identified a Richmond man as a homicide gunshot victim this morning.
Johnny Castaneda Jr., 25, of Richmond died after he was shot several times Thursday morning in a Vallejo apartment complex parking lot, police said.
He becomes Vallejo's sixth homicide victim of 2007, one more than all of last year. The city saw 16 in 2005 and nine in 2004.
He was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the north end of the Sereno Village Apartments, 750 Sereno Drive. The complex's parking lot was the site of a homicide earlier this year as well.
Eli Isaac Griffin, 29, of Vallejo, was shot to death Jan. 3 and his body dumped in the north Vallejo apartment complex. Two men accused of murdering Griffin had their preliminary hearing held this week in a Solano County court.
The second incident of the year at Sereno Village led the complex to bring in the Professional Officers Group, a security firm, to monitor the area.
A security company official said late Thursday that they were asked by management to begin locking the property down, including maintaining a physical presence at the front entrance, checking IDs and screening out nonresidents.
Eventually a gate will be erected, the source said.
Sereno Village management declined to comment.
Officers responded to numerous "shots fired" calls from apartment residents, police said, around 10:25 a.m. The victim was airlifted to a local hospital, police said.
Vallejo police spokesman Rick Nichelman said he could not provide any more details as there was an "ongoing investigation."
Staff writer George Kelly contributed to this report. E-mail Matthias Gafni at
[email protected] or call 707-553-6825.
