Police searching for motive, suspects in Dos Palos homicide

The search continued Monday for suspects in the slaying of a 17-year-old boy who was shot to death Sunday near Dos Palos High School.

Luis David Leon was shot at least once in the upper body about 7:45 p.m. in the area of Leonard Avenue and Palo Alto Street, according to the Dos Palos Police Department.

No arrests have been made, and no suspect descriptions have been released.

Police Chief Barry Mann said Leon had ties to known gangs in the city, but it remained unclear whether the shooting death was gang related. “We have not ruled out the possibility, but we’re not ready to say this was motivated by any gang involvement,” Mann said Monday. “We still don’t have a motive yet.”

Leon was a student of Westside High School in south Dos Palos and was a former student of the high school where his body was found Sunday, police confirmed.

“He (Leon) has had prior contacts with law enforcement recently, but nothing serious. He was cited and released because he was a juvenile, but wasn’t (booked into jail),” Mann said.

Efforts to reach Leon’s family were unsuccessful Monday. Police confirmed the victim’s relatives did not wish to speak with the media.

Leon was shot and killed in Dos Palos about one hour before a 16-year-old boy was gunned down near a school in south Merced, police confirmed.

The victim in the Merced shooting, whose name has not been released by law enforcement, was found in the parking lot of Tenaya Middle School, 760 W. Eighth St. No arrests have been reported in that case.

Mann said investigators do not believe there are any connections between the two Sunday homicides, calling the similarities between the cases as “coincidental.”

The two deaths were the culmination of a particularly violent weekend in Merced County, with three homicides, two of which occurred in the city of Merced.

Leon’s death marked the first homicide in Dos Palos since June 2013, police confirmed.

Mann said community cooperation would be critical for law enforcement to bring the case to a close. “For the last 15 years, we’ve solved every homicide we’ve had in Dos Palos, except for one,” Mann said.

The last unsolved homicide in Dos Palos came in February 2010 when Jesse Thinoi was shot and killed in the 1100 block of Golden Gate Avenue, according to Merced Area Crime Stoppers.

“That case was the only one we haven’t solved and it’s also the only one where we didn’t receive any cooperation from the public,” Mann said. “Cooperation is needed so the victim’s family can have justice, but also for the peace of our community.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2015 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Police searching for motive, suspects in Dos Palos homicide."