Los Banos shooting victim remains hospitalized; persons of interest sought

A 35-year-old father of three from Los Banos continued to recover Sunday, two days after he was shot on I Street.

David Contreras Sr. remained hospitalized Sunday in the intensive care unit of a Modesto hospital. His family fears he may never walk again.

“He was shot in the spine and the doctors say he may not be able to walk, but I’m hoping he can walk again,” said his father, Sal. “They took the tube out of his mouth (Saturday) and I was able to talk to him.”

Contreras was shot in the upper body just after 12:30 p.m. Friday in the 600 block of I Street in Los Banos.

Sal Contreras said he was relieved his son made it out of emergency surgery Friday.

Meanwhile, Los Banos police continued to search for three people described by investigators as “persons of interest” in the case. No arrests have been made.

Detectives have identified Billy Ray Littlefield, 21, Carl William Littlefield, 20, and Peyton Garnica, 20, as persons of interest in the shooting. The three are believed to be driving a silver colored 2000 Toyota Corolla, California license number 7KWS097, according to Los Banos police.

Cmdr. Jason Hedden has stopped short of describing Garnica and the Littlefield brothers as suspects and has declined to comment on any possible motives in the case. Investigators have said they believe Contreras was involved in some type of argument with the three persons of interest shortly before he was shot.

“If anybody has any information on their whereabouts, we’d like them to call us or contact us,” Hedden said Sunday.

Contreras has three children, all under the age of 12.

This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Los Banos shooting victim remains hospitalized; persons of interest sought."