Salinas man receives life sentence for attempted murders and murder in 2017 and 2018.

A Monterey Superior Court judge sentenced 25-year-old Julius Santa Cruz of Salinas to 72 years to life on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted murder on Feb. 19, after a jury convicted the Norteño gang member of the crimes in January.

According to an announcement from the Monterey County District Attorney’s office on Wednesday, Feb 25, the charges came through the DA's participation in Operation Redrum, a five-year-long state and federal investigation, which focused on shootings committed by members of the three Salinas-based Norteño gangs

In addition to Santa Cruz's convictions, the investigation resulted in federal indictments of six Norteño gang members: Siaki “Gunner” Tavale, Andrew “Banger” Alvarado, John “Romeo” Magat, Mark Garcia, Anelu “Angel” Tavale, and Anthony “Hitter” Valdez. Each defendant pleaded guilty and received prison sentences ranging from 25 to 41 years. 

The charges against Santa Cruz came about from incidents in 2017 and 2018. 

On August 13, 2017, two men, referred to as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, were parked at an apartment complex in East Salinas when a man fired 12 shots at the two men, still in the vehicle. The two men were both shot during the incident but survived the attack after Doe 1 drove to the Natividad Medical Center about two miles away, where they were treated for their injuries. 

The second incident occurred on June 11, 2018, when 37-year-old agriculture worker Sergio Carcamo was walking alone to his residence on Center Street in East Salinas. Before he got home, three men got out of a car and fired a total of 19 shots at Carcamo, who was hit with seven rounds and killed. 

Investigators didn’t have many evidentiary leads on the shootings until November 2018, when they obtained a recording of Santa Cruz describing his commission of the shootings. In the recording of Santa Cruz, he bragged about the 2017 incident and said that the shooting earned him the nickname “Drilla.” Santa Cruz also described murdering Carcamo and stated that he “tagged” him with shots until his gun jammed.  

According to the statement, retired Salinas Police Detective Byron Gansen led the Salinas Police Department’s Operation Redrum investigation, and Salinas Police Department Sgt. Rodolfo Roman and retired Sgt. Albert Duran investigated the two shootings. Monterey County District Attorney Investigator Daisy Gurley also investigated these shootings and assisted with the trial.