Man fatally shot in head in Soledad
By MARIA INES ZAMUDIO • The Salinas Californian • July 3, 2008
A man was shot in the head and killed Wednesday morning in Soledad, marking the city's first homicide in a year and a half.
About 9:30 a.m., police found Cesar Vasquez, 27, unconscious but breathing on a sidewalk on the 400 block of Aztlan Circle.
Vasquez was flown to Mee Memorial Hospital in King City, where he later died.
While on the scene, officers received a second call of shots fired in the area of Metz Road and North Street. Soledad police Chief Richard Cox said the additional gunfire was likely connected to the fatal shooting, but he would not elaborate.
Police detained a person for questioning in the homicide, however, as of Wednesday evening, the person had not been booked on any charges, police said.
Cox said the killing was likely gang-related.
"We are concerned about it," Cox said of the homicide. "We are taking it seriously."
As a precaution, Soledad High School administrators placed the campus on lockdown for an hour after the shooting, police said. The high school is less than a mile from the shooting scene.
Cox said Soledad has had several drive-by shootings so far this year, about average for the city.
Before Wednesday, Soledad hadn't seen a homicide since Feb. 17, 2007, when Freddy Gaeta, 31, of Salinas, was fatally stabbed during a fight in Soledad. A second man, Miguel Angel Oliveros, 32, of Soledad, also was stabbed but recovered.
Soledad police said the fight appeared to be gang-related.
Monterey County Gang Task Force Cmdr. Dino Bardoni said gang problems exist throughout the area, not just in Salinas.
"Every community in Monterey County has gang members or associates," Bardoni said.
Because gangs are mobile, often traveling to other communities to commit crimes, it's important that law enforcement agencies in different jurisdictions work together, said Bardoni, whose 18-member gang task force includes officers from several local cities, including Soledad.
By MARIA INES ZAMUDIO • The Salinas Californian • July 3, 2008
A man was shot in the head and killed Wednesday morning in Soledad, marking the city's first homicide in a year and a half.
About 9:30 a.m., police found Cesar Vasquez, 27, unconscious but breathing on a sidewalk on the 400 block of Aztlan Circle.
Vasquez was flown to Mee Memorial Hospital in King City, where he later died.
While on the scene, officers received a second call of shots fired in the area of Metz Road and North Street. Soledad police Chief Richard Cox said the additional gunfire was likely connected to the fatal shooting, but he would not elaborate.
Police detained a person for questioning in the homicide, however, as of Wednesday evening, the person had not been booked on any charges, police said.
Cox said the killing was likely gang-related.
"We are concerned about it," Cox said of the homicide. "We are taking it seriously."
As a precaution, Soledad High School administrators placed the campus on lockdown for an hour after the shooting, police said. The high school is less than a mile from the shooting scene.
Cox said Soledad has had several drive-by shootings so far this year, about average for the city.
Before Wednesday, Soledad hadn't seen a homicide since Feb. 17, 2007, when Freddy Gaeta, 31, of Salinas, was fatally stabbed during a fight in Soledad. A second man, Miguel Angel Oliveros, 32, of Soledad, also was stabbed but recovered.
Soledad police said the fight appeared to be gang-related.
Monterey County Gang Task Force Cmdr. Dino Bardoni said gang problems exist throughout the area, not just in Salinas.
"Every community in Monterey County has gang members or associates," Bardoni said.
Because gangs are mobile, often traveling to other communities to commit crimes, it's important that law enforcement agencies in different jurisdictions work together, said Bardoni, whose 18-member gang task force includes officers from several local cities, including Soledad.
