Merced County Sheriffs deputies make 5 arrests during investigation into teen’s homicide
The Merced County Sheriff’s Office on Friday announced the arrest of five suspects in connection with the June 22 homicide of a 17-year old juvenile.
The coroner’s office in June identified the victim as Salvador Munoz Zaragoza of Le Grand. Deputies have been investigating the case for the last two months.
The suspects were identified as Ociel Mendoza, 27, Filberto Maldonado Jr., Hericberto Pantoja, 25, Omar Maravilla Gacria, 31 and Cesar Villegas, 20, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.
On the night of the homicide, deputies received several calls around 9 p.m. that two vehicles were traveling through Planada. The occupants were shooting at each other.
Deputies arrived in the 1500 block of Plainsburg Avenue and found a man suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. It was determined he was involved in the vehicle gun battle.
At 9:45 p.m. detectives received information about the 17-year old victim, who was at a local hospital with fatal gunshot wounds.
During the course of the investigation, Mendoza was arrested June 23 with the assistance of Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputies. He was booked on suspicion of murder.
Maldonado Jr. was arrested on suspicion of murder Aug. 8 by investigators with assistance from Merced County Sheriff’s SWAT Team. They had served a search warrant in Planada.
During the service of the search warrant, detectives saw Pantoja and arrested him after a short vehicle pursuit. He was booked on weapons charges and for fleeing law enforcement.
Later that day, detectives arrested Garcia and Villegas. They were booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Pantoja was arrested for the pursuit and weapons charges.
Anyone with additional info in the case is asked to call 209-385-7472. Tips will remain anonymous.
This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 5:48 PM.
