Atwater man with possible cartel connections convicted of killing 2 men 2 years apart

An Atwater man described by prosecutors as a “sick and twisted killer” was convicted Friday of killing two men two years apart in Merced County.

Dionicio Gutierrez-Salazar, 38, shot a 71-year-old Ballico man in the head during an argument over a debt, the Merced County District Attorney’s Office said.

Investigators said Gutierrez-Salazar’s shot and killed Ramon Jimenez on Feb. 19, 2013, at the victim’s Ballico home. Gutierrez-Salazar and two others went to their home to steal paperwork associated with a debt involving Jimenez.

Gutierrez-Salazar’s attorney, Katherine Hart, argued in court that her client was in the home at the time of the violence, but said he was not the gunman. Hart could not be reached for comment Friday.

Merced County sheriff’s detectives said Gutierrez-Salazar managed to stay off the law enforcement radar by using a string of bogus names and taking advantage of the fact he largely was unknown in the community because he came to the country illegally and was believed to have ties to a prominent Mexican drug cartel, authorities said.

Two years later, Gutierrez-Salazar stabbed Carlos Herrera to death in a fight over disparaging remarks Herrera reportedly made about one of Gutierrez-Salazar’s family members. Herrera was tied to a chair, beaten and stabbed in the eyes, neck, chest and back on Sept. 5, 2015, according to investigators.

His body later was rolled into a rug and taken to a rural Snelling orchard and torched. Gutierrez-Salazar and two other men took “trophy photos” and even filmed parts of the violence and its aftermath, authorities said.

Gutierrez-Salazar’s violent run in Merced County ended Friday when a Merced County Superior Court jury handed down a string of guilty convictions that will put Gutierrez-Salazar behind prison bars for the rest of his life.

Travis Colby, a deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, said he was pleased with Friday’s verdict and complimented the investigation conducted by the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

Merced sheriff’s Detective-Sgt. Chuck Hale said he was satisfied with the outcome in the case against Gutierrez-Salazar.

“He’s definitely a person we’re happy to have taken off the streets,” Hale said in a telephone interview.

Rogaciano Munoz was with Gutierrez-Salazar and a third man on the day of the Ballico violence in 2013. He accepted a plea deal from prosecutors and testified during the trial. The third man never has been captured.

Alexis Eduardo Garcia-Jimenez, 20, and Francisco Alvarez, 25, accepted plea agreements from the Merced County District Attorney’s Office in connection with the 2015 slaying in Atwater. They were given credit for time served behind bars.

Nicole Silveira, the supervising deputy district attorney, said the only “common link” between the cases was Gutierrez-Salazar’s involvement and statements he made bragging about his involvement with a Mexican drug cartel.

“We believe he is a member of a cartel,” Silveira said, “and, in both cases, he wanted to glorify his membership.”

Gutierrez-Salazar remains behind bars in Merced County without bail. He will be sentenced July 20 by Judge Ronald W. Hansen.

Prosecutors confirmed that sentencing guidelines will force Gutierrez-Salazar to serve a lifetime prison sentence without the possibility of parole.

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Atwater man with possible cartel connections convicted of killing 2 men 2 years apart."