Teenager arrested for murder of a Salinas man during a 2024 Prunedale sideshow.

A 17-year-old Sacramento boy was arrested Wednesday, March 12 for the murder of a Salinas man during a November sideshow in Prunedale.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest during a press conference Friday, March 14, the day after the suspect was extradited to Monterey County and booked into juvenile hall.

On Nov. 9 at about 10:25pm at the intersection of Prunedale South Road and Blackie Road during a sideshow—an illegal gathering where drivers block off an intersection and spin donuts and race in front of a large crowd—Adrian Puga of Salinas, 18, was shot and later died at a hospital.

Because such gatherings come and go within minutes, many of those who witnessed the shooting quickly scattered before deputies arrived. However, many posted videos from the scene on social media without sharing them to law enforcement, Sheriff Tina Nieto said.

Nieto said more than 20 warrants were served of “persons of interest” that led to residences in Sacramento, but the warrants were also related to electronic devices in order to obtain videos from the scene.

“To those who posted on social media and didn’t report to the police, shame on you,” Nieto said. “It shouldn’t be law enforcement to have to ask to please do the right thing and turn over the video. You should be turning this over to law enforcement right away.”

The investigation eventually led to the suspect’s home in Sacramento, and with the aid of the Sacramento Police SWAT team and other agencies, Monterey County detectives arrested the teenager on March 12 at 2:30pm without incident. Because he is a minor, the suspect is not being named.

“I’d like to release his name,” Nieto said. “People need to know who’s committing these crimes, but our laws prevent us from doing that, and I respect our laws.”

The motive for the shooting is unknown. While investigators say they believe the suspect was affiliated with gangs, there is no evidence to suggest Puga was as well.

Before the press conference began, Nieto spoke with a group of Puga’s family members in attendance at the sheriff’s office in Salinas. The family declined to provide a statement to the media.

Puga had just graduated from North Salinas High School.

“This is tragic,” Nieto said. “To lose someone at 18 years old, somebody who had done good things for our community, that is hard.”

Commander Andy Rosas said the search warrants uncovered a number of firearms and drugs. But whether one of the firearms was used in the shooting is currently unknown as the investigation continues.

Nieto said sideshows leading to tragedy happen all too often in Monterey County, and urged legislators to give law enforcement the tools to crack down on these participants.

“For those who attend the illegal sideshows, this is what I’d like to tell you: these things lead to tragedy,” she said. “This needs to stop. 

“To our legislators, we need to strengthen our laws regarding these types of illegal gatherings. We need to be able to impound vehicles, because nothing seems to work unless you take away their cars and it costs them money. It’s like people don’t care about the lives that are taken in incidents like this.”