Suspect Arrested In Double Shooting That Killed 1, Injured 1 In Soquel Area

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA – A 31-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a Monday afternoon shooting that killed a man and injured a woman in the Soquel-Santa Cruz area, a Santa Cruz County sheriff's spokesman said today.

Jose Luis Ramos, of Watsonville, is a suspect in the shooting that killed 28-year-old Santiago Avalos Sanchez of Soquel and wounded a 32-year-old Watsonville woman who was in stable condition as of this morning,
sheriff's Sgt. Chris Clark said.

Deputies responded to reports of a shooting near North Rodeo Gulch Road and Soquel Drive shortly before 2:30 p.m. and found the victims suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, Clark said.

The pair was transported to hospitals and Sanchez succumbed to his injuries. An autopsy on the 28-year-old man's body is scheduled for today, according to Clark.

Detectives looking into the case found out Ramos knew the female victim and located him and his car in the 3000 block of Porter Street, less than a mile east of the shooting scene, Clark said.

Ramos was allegedly found with methamphetamine and a methamphetamine pipe when he was arrested. He has been booked into Santa Cruz County Jail, where he's being held on $2 million bail, according to Clark.

Sheriff's forensics criminalists are looking into whether a wrapped item found near Ramos during his arrest is a gun or another item, Clark said.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the sheriff's office at (831) 471-1151.

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--Bay City News/Image via SCCSO