Santa Maria police say two deadly shootings that occurred in the past week are not believed to be connected, but they’re also not ruling out the possibility that they could be gang-related.
On Thursday, Dec. 6, Vicente De Jesus Medina Guerrero, 21, of Bakersfield was shot and killed in the area of W. Bunny St. and N. Blosser Rd. On Saturday, Dec. 8, Adrian Alvarez, 18, of Santa Maria was found shot to death in the area of Thornburg St. and Enos Dr.
Both homicides remain under investigation and police are asking the public to come forward with any information that could help them solve these cases.
Saturday’s shooting was the seventh homicide to occur in the City of Santa Maria in 2018, police said. In that case, officers said they had already served several search warrants but were not releasing any additional information about the investigation.
“We have not yet been able for either shooting to confirm or show this is gang-related or that it is not,” said Lt. Paul Van Meel, Santa Maria Police Department. “It’s not something we can rule out as of yet but it’s being looked into as a possibility.”
Lt. Van Meel says tipsters can remain anonymous. The police department’s tip line is (805) 928-3781 ext. 2677.
