Fourth Los Banos homicide suspect arrested in Gilroy

A fourth suspect was arrested this weekend in Gilroy in connection with the death last week of a 35-year-old Los Banos man.

Tony Lujan III was arrested Saturday and booked into jail with bond set at $1.05 million, according to Merced County jail records.

Los Banos police Cmdr. Jason Hedden said the 27-year-old Gilroy man was booked into Merced County jail on charges of homicide and accessory to homicide.

Rene Cruz Sandoval suffered at least one gunshot wound at 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 13 and was found by Los Banos police bleeding heavily on private property near an alleyway in the 300 block of H Street.

Cruz Sandoval died at the scene, marking the first Los Banos homicide in 2016.

Hedden said that Tony Lujan III, along with three other family members, is suspected of killing Cruz Sandoval.

Those suspects, brothers Charles F. Lujan, 59, and Steven A. Lujan, 55, and their nephew Ronnie Lujan, 34, were arrested Wednesday.

Hedden said Tony Lujan III is related to the three other suspects, but he declined to state their relationship.

Hedden said Los Banos police detectives and Gilroy police served a search warrant about 11:30 a.m. Saturday at a residence in the 700 block of Dartmouth Place in Gilroy.

Tony Lujan III ran from the residence and was captured in the backyard of an adjacent property by Los Banos Detective Marcelino Cortez and a Gilroy police sergeant, Hedden said.

Investigators found a single shell casing at the scene, but declined to comment on the murder weapon or whether it was located.

However, police said they do believe it wasn’t a gang-related attack.

“We believe we do know the motive, but it’s too soon to comment on that,” Los Banos Cmdr. Ray Reyna said in a telephone interview last week.

Through video surveillance in the H Street neighborhood, investigators identified a Chrysler sedan driving through the alley and stopping at the victim’s home around the time of the homicide.

Los Banos detectives located Ronnie Lujan driving the vehicle away from a Merced home, and with assistance from the Merced Police Department, stopped and arrested him.

Charles and Steven Lujan were arrested while they walked away from the Frankfort Court home.

Police said they found “additional evidence and information” in the home linking the three family members to the suspected homicide but declined to elaborate.

Hedden said the homicide investigation is ongoing, and the police department wasn’t releasing any more information Monday.

This story was originally published September 19, 2016 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Fourth Los Banos homicide suspect arrested in Gilroy."