3 Suspects Arrested in Separate Murder Cases in Less Than 48 Hours

In less than 48 hours, Watsonville police arrested three suspects wanted in separate murder cases, a police spokesman said Wednesday.

The most recent arrest happened Tuesday when Brandon Ruiz Martinez, 21, was taken into custody in Zinapecuaro, Mexico in the murders of Jaelyn Marie Zavala, 4, and Ramon Rendon, 33, on Main Street last year, police Lt. Saul Gonzalez said.

Jaelyn, Rendon and a third victim were struck by stray bullets during a fight that erupted on Oct. 10, 2014 near the Fish House Bar and Grill and valley Inn Motel, police said.

Jaelyn and the third victim, who was later treated for injuries not considered life-threatening, had been in the restaurant while Rendon was found on the ground outside the motel, police said.

Martinez was deported to the United States this morning and the FBI handed him over to Watsonville police, the spokesman said. Police arrested Martinez with help from the FBI and Mexican authorities, Gonzalez said.

Detectives are still looking for anyone else involved in the murders, according to Gonzalez. The nine suspects arrested so far include two alleged shooters, six co-conspirators and one person who helped and abetted a suspect following the murder, police said. Martinez is an alleged co-conspirator in the case.

One of the suspected shooters is Michael Escobar, who was arrested days after the murders, according to Gonzalez.

The other alleged shooter, Marcos Robles, 23, was taken into custody last month at a hotel room in Guadalajara, Mexico with his girlfriend, Samantha Teran, 23, a suspected accessory after the murder, police said.

Investigators offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of Robles and Martinez.

Also on Tuesday, detectives went to a Greenfield apartment complex where they served a warrant for Damian Baxter, 29, a suspect in the fatal shooting of Jesus Rocha, 33, on Palm Avenue at about 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 17, according to Gonzalez.

As police were approaching a unit, Baxter ran out a back sliding glass door to a common area while he wore a cast on his foot, Gonzalez said. Officers waited for Baxter in the common area and he surrendered without incident. He is scheduled for arraignment on Monday, police said.

Rachelle Vasquez, 30, was identified as a person of interest in Rocha’s murder and turned herself in last week, but was later found to be involved in the death, according to police.

Daniel Garcia, 16, was arraigned Wednesday on a first-degree murder charge in the death of 19-year-old Mario Daniel Hernandez, police said.

Hernandez was found shot in the 200 block of Clifford Avenue on Sunday around 10:40 p.m. and the teenage boy was arrested about 13 hours later, according to police.

--Bay City News Service