Salinas Teen Murder Victim Identified

Salinas police have identified the 15-year-old boy killed in late July.

Ernesto Chavez, a Salinas resident shot and killed July 24, was the first victim in a string of violence that has more than doubled the city’s murder rate in two weeks. His death was followed by eight murders, as well as the police killing of an alleged gang member, bringing the number of city murders to 15 for the year.

On July 25 Jose Alfredo Espinoza was killed after a shooting on the outskirts of Salinas. The next night, police shot and killed Juan Luis Acuna during a chase. On July 28, Janneli Garcia, a single mother and recent graduate was shot to death in a South Salinas motel. The following day a 60-year-old carpenter working on a city-owned property was shot and killed in an apparent robbery. On Aug. 1 Victor Sosa, a 99-cent store security guard, was stabbed to death. On Aug. 4 Ruben Francisco, a man who’d only been in Salinas a couple of weeks, was shot to death. And on Aug. 5 three people were killed during a fight outside a taco restaurant.