Robert Sanchez arrested on suspicion of Santoya’s death

Violence in Salinas returned to the area of Hartnell College late Friday night with the slaying of one man and serious injury of another.
Witnesses say a fight broke out about 11:15 p.m. at a party on the 700 block of Archer Street, leaving one man fatally shot and another stabbed. The injured man ran into a nearby apartment complex to hide until police arrived, then was taken by helicopter from the soccer fields at Hartnell College to a Bay Area hospital.
Police are not releasing the names or ages of the two men or saying whether the homicide and assault were gang-related.
The shot man became the city’s ninth homicide of the year and second homicide of the week.The day before, Martin Santoya, 21, was fatally shot near North Salinas High School minutes before school let out while arguing with someone in another car. Salinas police arrested Robert Sanchez, 18, Friday on suspicion of Santoya’s death — the year’s first arrest in a gang-related homicide in Salinas.This year the area around Hartnell and Central Park has seen an unusual amount of violence.On March 4, Gabriel Mendoza, 17, was fatally shot while walking through Central Park at night with his 14-year-old brother, Juan. This homicide, the city’s fifth of the year, is believed to be gang-related, police said.Four weeks later, Ivan Zamora, 19, was shot multiple times April 2 on the 600 block of Central Avenue and transported to a Bay Area hospital. Police said the shooting was gang-related.Central Avenue historically has been known as an area controlled by members of Norteño-affiliated gangs, said Monterey County Gang Task Force Cmdr. Dino Bardoni.About eight years ago, Bardoni said, the neighborhood experienced similar violence. He compared the rise and fall of violence in the area to a roller coaster, but declined to link it to any particular cause. “It is not a simple thing,” he said. “There are a lot of variables that we need to take into consideration to explain the spike in violence.”Bardoni did not comment on the ongoing investigation of this year’s homicides in this area.Some neighbors are taking safety precautions.Yvonne Jimenez,who has lived on Archer Street for four years, said she is concerned about the safety of her three children, 8, 11 and 15.Jimenez said that since Friday’s slaying, her children are not allowed to play outside. While they’ve always walked to and from school she said she now plans to pick them up during the afternoon, when gang members may be active. “It’s scary to know how the area has changed,” Jimenez said.
Central Avenue resident Richard Littlefield, who lives two houses from the April 2 shooting, said the violence would probably continue.“The retaliation will continue, and there’s only so much that police can do,” he said. “This was a lovely, quiet side of town, but now (violence) is filtering in.”

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