Two Merced gang members convicted in double homicide shootout, authorities say

Two gang members from Merced were convicted this week in connection with a 2015 gun battle in Winton that left two people dead.

Jose Hernandez and David Zamora, both 23-year-old Merced men, were found guilty of two counts of murder by a Merced County Superior Court jury.

Salvador Medina, a 36-year-old Winton man with zero gang ties, was shot and killed April 6, 2015, outside his home on Walnut Avenue. Jose Zamora, an 18-year-old gang member who prosecutors said was part of the attack, also was shot and killed in the gunfight, the Merced County District Attorney’s Office said.

Jose Zamora and David Zamora were brothers, Merced County sheriff’s investigators have said. Hernandez’s 13-year-old brother also was involved in the attack, authorities have said.

Hernandez and the Zamora brothers were part of a group of Merced gang members who drove into Winton that night, searching for rival gang members to kill, prosecutors said Friday in a news release.

“After arriving in Winton, the two armed younger brothers exited the backseat of the car, and confronted Salvador Medina, as both defendants waited down the street as lookouts and a getaway driver,” prosecutors said in a statement.

At some point during the confrontation, gunshots were exchanged. Medina was shot and killed at the scene. Jose Zamora was taken to an area hospital where he later died.

The gang gun battle happened as state and local law enforcement agencies were involved in an extended wiretap investigation targeting those gang members. Key evidence in the case came from recorded cellphone conversations captured on the wiretap as part of the probe known as “Operation Red Right Hand.”

Sheriff’s Lt. Chuck Hale said suspects were heard discussing how to destroy evidence in the case, among other details. He declined to elaborate on other details of the wiretap case.

“I’m very pleased with the jury’s verdict,” Hale said Friday. “I think it was the result of hard work by the detectives and investigators and hard work and great teamwork between the deputies and the prosecutors in the case.”

Hernandez and Zamora face possible lifetime prison sentences without parole at their sentencing hearing Oct. 24.

This story was originally published September 7, 2018 at 3:43 PM.