Victim

Victim: Larry Beyers, 43

Date: January 3, 1991

Address: 2100 East Harbor

Synopsis: Larry Beyers was employed as a guard by Allied Security and was working the late night shift in Lot 5 at Southwest Marine. On the night of January 3, 1991, two men attacked Beyers while he was making his rounds. The men beat and robbed Beyers and then shot him.

Beyers told officers that two men approached him, asked directions to a local freeway, and then left. They returned a few minutes later. The white male driver exited the car armed with a knife and forced Beyers into the guard shack where the man robbed Beyers of his wallet, his watch and his two-way radio. During the robbery the black male in the passenger seat yelled out, “Finish him off!  Shoot him!” whereupon the white male shot Beyers and left him for dead.

The white male was described as being in his early 20s, with a tall, slender build, sandy brown hair, wearing a light-colored sweatshirt and dark pants. The black male was described as being in his early 20s, 5’11” and 195 to 200 lbs. The suspects were driving a light-colored, American 4-door sedan.

The missing property included the victim’s wallet with identification, a Seiko watch and a Motorola two-way radio, Model MX330, #9. The radio may also have had the initials “SWM” engraved on it.

Beyers died from complications caused by the gunshot wound several days after the attack.

Victim

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Victim: Lori Ann Mooney, age 29

Date: June 8, 1991

Address: 4425 Bannock Avenue

Synopsis: On June 8, 1991 a man out for his early morning walk discovered the body of Lori Ann Mooney at the North Clairemont Friendship Senior Center at 4400 Bannock Avenue.  Officers discovered that Lori had been shot once in the head.

Lori Mooney was a resident of Clairemont and up until the time of her death she had been a regular in the area of the senior center. She was often seen riding around the neighborhood on her Suzuki motorcycle. 

Fugitive Suspect

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Fugitive Suspect

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Victim: Fabian Rodriguez

Date: June 28, 1991

Address: Chamoune Avenue

Synopsis: The victim, Fabian Rodriguez, and the suspect, Jaime Gonzalez, lived next door to one another on Chamoune Ave. in East San Diego. On June 27, 1991, several men, including Rodriguez and Gonzalez, were sitting outside of Rodriguez' home drinking alcohol. An argument started between the neighbors which culminated in Gonzalez threatening to kill Rodriguez. The following morning, Gonzalez went to Rodriguez' home with a handgun, confronted Rodriguez and shot him to death. Investigators believe that Gonzalez fled to Mexicali, Mexico after the murder with his friend Santiago Torres.

Jaime Alvarez Gonzalez (pictured above) is 5'2" tall with a dark complexion, dark brown hair and brown eyes. He weighed about 170lbs. at the time of the murder. His hair was neck length and wavy, he had a mustache, and spoke English with an accent. He also has tattoos of a peacock and a lady on his right arm. Gonzalez sometimes works as a disc jockey for private parties. Gonzalez should be considered dangerous and there is an arrest warrant charging him with murder.

Person of Interest

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Victim: Terri Lynn Bistodeau

Date: August 5, 1991

Address: 5367 Geneva Avenue

Synopsis: On August 5, 1992 officers were dispatched to a residence on Geneva Street to investigate a murder after the property owner discovered the tenant dead in her bedroom.  The victim was 39-year-old Terry Lynn Bistodeau. The investigation revealed that Bistodeau had been strangled to death.

A family member said that Bistodeau had been in a violent relationship with a Hispanic male known as “Shorty” true name Anthony Bustamonte. Detectives attempted to locate and interview Bustamonte but he disappeared after Bistodeau’s murder and could not be found. In October 1994, Bustamonte was deported to Mexico, but detectives did not learn about the deportation until it was too late and he was already in Mexico.

Victim

Victim: Jafar Barzanjy (photo not available)

Date: December 21, 1991

Address: 7000 Akins Avenue

Synopsis: Jafar Barzanjy, a cab driver, was shot and killed in his cab during an apparent robbery.

On the night of December 21, 1991, Barzanjy was involved in an altercation that started when several customers left without paying a taxi fare.  Barzanjy was so angry and upset over the incident that his supervisor told him to go home for the night to calm down.  However, Barzanjy ignored the advice and instead went back out in his cab to try and regain his lost earnings.

Later that night, a fellow cab driver saw Barzanjy pick up two or three men in the area of Hotel Circle.  The driver had earlier refused to give these men a ride because they were acting suspiciously.  However, Barzanjy accepted them as fares.  A short time later, residents in the area of 7000 Akins heard gunshots and found Barzanjy suffering from a gunshot wound, slumped in the driver’s seat of his cab which had rolled to a stop in the middle of the street.  A witness saw a black male get out of the cab after the shots were fired and flee on foot.

Victim

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Victim: Richard Anthony Martin Jr.

Date: February 2, 1992

Address: 4500 University Avenue

Synopsis: On the evening of February 2, 1992 the victim Richard Martin was walking westbound on the north sidewalk of 4500 University Avenue. Two black male juveniles walking down Chamoune Avenue turned westbound onto University Avenue so that they were walking directly behind Martin. Witnesses saw the young men pass Martin, and then saw one of the men turn and punch Martin in the face and yell, “You shouldn’t have messed with us.”  The witnesses did not see Martin say or do anything to provoke the attack. The punch to the face caused Martin to fall and hit his head on the pavement, subsequently causing his death.

The suspects were described as follows:  the male who punched Martin was described as a black male, 16-17 yrs. old, 5’11” tall with a thin build and short dark hair, wearing a dark jacket with red trim. The second male was described as a black male, 16-17 yrs. old, 5’1” tall with a thin build and neck length braided hair, wearing a dark watch cap, black sweater, and back pants.

Victim

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Victim: Angela Kleinsorge

Date: February 29, 1992

Address: 5600 Gaines Street

Synopsis: Mrs. Angela Kleinsorge was an 84-year-old woman who lived alone in a detached, single-family residence on 5600 Gaines Street in the Mission Valley West / Morena area.  Mrs. Kleinsorge was last known to be alive on February 28, 1992, when she spoke to her daughter on the phone.  The following morning, the daughter went to Mrs. Kleinsorge’s home to check on her, and discovered Mrs. Kleinsorge dead.  Mrs. Kleinsorge had been sexually assaulted and stabbed to death.  The evidence indicated that the unknown suspect entered Mrs. Kleinsorge’s home through a window and attacked her.

Victim

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Victim: Maria Cortes

Date: March 4, 1992

Address: 7500 Mission Valley Road

Synopsis: Maria Cortes was a Mexican national who worked as a housekeeper and child care provider.  She had a two-year-old daughter named Briana.  Those close to Cortes described her as a devoted mother and a hard worker, dedicated to making a better life for Briana and becoming a legal citizen herself.  Cortes had no car and used buses for transportation, often riding two or more buses in one trip and sometimes walking alone at night to get home from work.

Cortes was last seen alive at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday night, March 3, 1992, when she picked up Briana after work at a relative’s house in East San Diego.  Maria may have been on her way by bus to Linda Vista to attend a weekly sewing class at the Bayside Settlement House.

At about 7:15 the following morning, SDPD officers responded to a citizen’s report of a child sitting on top of what appeared to be a body in an open field at 7500 Mission Valley Road.  When officers arrived they found Cortes’ body lying in a muddy field behind a shopping center.  She had been strangled to death and stabbed in the groin.  Sitting on top of her body was her daughter Briana – crying and suffering from hypothermia but essentially unharmed physically.  Briana ran into the arms of a female police officer when officers approached.

A friend said that Cortes had a habit of sometimes accepting rides from strangers as a way to avoid the long bus rides she normally faced every day.

Victim

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Victim: Jackson Jones, 50

Date: April 17, 1992

Address: 4100 Colts Way

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Victim: Paul Abel Gonzalez

Date: June 18, 1992

Address: 200 N. 29th Street

Witnesses reported hearing gunshots, and then the sound of people running eastbound in the alley between ‘K’ and ‘L’ Streets. Officers located bullet casings and other items of evidence on the west sidewalk of 200 29th Street. It appeared that Gonzalez was shot there, and then ran across the street to his house where he called for help and collapsed.

Victim

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Victim: Todd Loren, 32

Date: June 18, 1992

Address: 4241 Fifth Avenue

Suspect information: None

On June 18, 1992, Todd Loren was discovered stabbed to death inside his apartment at 4241 Fifth Avenue.

Todd’s vehicle, a 1991 Chrysler Lebaron convertible, was missing.  Two days after Todd’s murder, the Lebaron was found abandoned in a parking lot at Chabot College in Hayward, California.

A subject named Gary Lee Stewart, a resident of Oakland and San Francisco, was eventually arrested for possession of stolen property when his fingerprints were identified inside Loren’s vehicle.  Stewart admitted driving Loren’s vehicle but denied involvement in Loren’s murder.

Victim

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Victim's Tattoo

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Victim's Jeans

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Victim: Joseph Parnell
Date: June 27, 1992
Address: Intersate 5 and Interstate 8

The body turned out to be that of a male who had been stabbed to death.  The victim in this case has never been identified. A follow-up investigation, which included consultation by a forensic anthropologist, developed the following information about the victim: the victim was a male between the ages of 40-55 at the time of his death, white or Hispanic, 5’8” tall and slim, with brown hair 3 to 4 inches long. The victim was possibly gay. He had a large tattoo of a panther on his left chest. (See photo pictured above.) Advanced decomposition made it impossible to determine if there were other tattoos. The victim’s top two front teeth were porcelain crowns. He was wearing a Cordoba leather belt with a white metal buckle, blue Levi jeans bearing a large, prominent patch on the right rear pocket stating:  Levi Strauss, San Francisco. (See photo pictured above.)

UPDATE: In February 2008, this John Doe victim was identified as Joseph Ernest Parnell, age 36 at the time of his death.  Parnell was originally from Boston, Massachusetts.  He spent several years of his life as a drifter, and accumulated a record of petty arrests in Florida and South Carolina before he moved to San Diego and decided it was time to turn his life around.  Parnell got a job at the Burger King Restaurant at 10th and ‘B’ Streets downtown, and was reportedly working there in June 1992 when he suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.  At the time, no one connected Parnell’s unexplained disappearance with the discovery of a body several weeks later on the side of a freeway across town.

Parnell’s family members told investigators that, at the time he disappeared, Parnell was staying with a young woman and her family.  The woman was a co-worker at the same Burger King.

The woman is not a suspect in the case, but detectives would like to identify and interview her regarding Parnell’s activities immediately prior to his disappearance.  Detectives would also like to interview anyone who worked at this Burger King in 1992.

The woman is described as a Hispanic female, who was 19-20 years old at the time, possibly named Margarite or something similar.  She may have lived outside downtown and used the trolley to travel to work.

Victim

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Possible Suspect

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Victim: Robert Schmidt

Date: August 7, 1992

Address: 3300 Sixth Avenue

View the Video

Synopsis: SDPD officers responding to a report of a traffic accident found Robert Schmidt, 31, slumped over and unconscious in the driver’s seat of his black Toyota pick-up truck. The truck veered out of control while traveling northbound on Sixth Avenue and crashed into a parked car.  The officers discovered the reason for the accident when they examined Schmidt; he had just been stabbed multiple times in the upper torso, and was possibly trying to drive himself to a nearby hospital.  Schmidt died a short time later.

Schmidt lived in the North Park area and worked at the Chicago Brothers Pizza in Del Mar.

An investigation into the circumstances of Schmidt’s murder revealed that, fewer than eight minutes before the crash, Schmidt stopped at an ATM at 3rd & Laurel Streets where he withdrew some cash.  Images from the ATM camera revealed that Schmidt was not alone at that point; there were two Hispanic males with Schmidt in the front seat.

The two men in Schmidt’s truck have never been identified and they are persons of interest in the investigation into Schmidt’s murder.  It is possible that Schmidt picked them up in the area of Balboa Park shortly before he went to the ATM.  They are described as Hispanic males in their 20s.

The sketch (pictured above) was drawn by a police forensic artist based on the ATM surveillance video.

Victim: Ida Louise Loe (photo not available)

Date: November 11, 1992

Address: 1605 Hotel Circle South

Synopsis: Ida Louise Loe lived alone in an upstairs apartment at 1605 Hotel Circle South in Mission Valley.  On Sunday evening, November 1, 1992, a concerned family member who had not heard from Loe for several days contacted the police who responded to Loe’s apartment and discovered her body inside.  Loe had been shot and stabbed to death and the apartment showed signs of having been ransacked.

No motive was ever developed for this case and no suspect was ever identified.

Fugitive Suspect: Maria Elvia Larios (photo not available)

Victim: Jose Shaw (photo not available)

Date: March 1993

Address: 1804 S. 39th Street

Synopsis: Maria Elvia Larios, D.O.B. 6-11-45, is wanted for the murder of one-year-old Jose Shaw.  There is a felony warrant outstanding for Larios charging her with murder.  Larios is a Hispanic female, 5’4” tall and 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. 

The incident for which Guzman is wanted occurred in 1993.  At the time, Larios was Jose’s babysitter.  Jose’s parents began noticing small scratches and bruising on their baby, but the injuries were convincingly explained away by Larios.  Then, on March 2, 1993, paramedics responded to an emergency call at 1804 S. 39th Street.  The call had been placed by Larios.  Larios reported that Jose had fallen from the bed.  Jose was transported to Children’s Hospital.

During their examination of Jose, the treating physicians discovered the child had severe injuries consistent with “shaken baby syndrome”.  A detective interviewed Larios the same day that Jose was admitted to the hospital, but Larios denied any wrongdoing.  Larios agreed to participate in a second interview, but on March 5, 1993 she skipped town.  It is believed she fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution.  Three days after she disappeared, little Jose succumbed to his injuries.  

Victim

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Victim

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Victim: Robert Paul Johnson

Date: April 24, 1993

Address: 3200 Mission Boulevard

Synopsis: Robert Paul Johnson, age 27, lived in Mission Beach and was the manager of his apartment complex. On Thursday evening, April 22, 1993, Johnson attended a dinner party with a friend.  After the party, Johnson got a ride home from his friend, arriving at about 11:30 pm. Johnson’s friend was the last person to see him alive.

Johnson failed to show up for work for the next two days. Johnson’s boss, concerned over his absence, eventually contacted one of one Johnson’s friends, who went to Johnson’s apartment on April 24, 1993, to check on Johnson. Johnson’s body was discovered in the bathroom of his apartment.  He had been strangled to death.

Johnson was very friendly and frequently invited people he met on the Mission Beach boardwalk to his home.

Victim

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Victim: Mimi Barraza

Date: September 4, 1993

Address: 1600 South 39th Street

Synopsis: In the early morning hours of September 4, 1993, Mimi Barraza and a group of her friends were standing outside of a friend’s home talking.  A white Chevy Astro-Van pulled up to the corner on 39th Street, and without warning, the occupants of the van began shooting into Barraza’s group of friends.  One of Barraza’s girlfriends was shot in the leg and Barraza herself was killed when a bullet from an assault rifle struck her in the head.

The van sped away from the scene.  It was located several hours later that morning abandoned at 19th & G Street.  The van had been reported stolen the previous day.  Casings from several different caliber weapons were recovered at the crime scene and from the van.

During the same general time frame, in both San Diego and National City, several other shootings using the same type of assault rifle occurred.  Nine people were wounded in the National City case.  In one of the San Diego cases, which occurred on 3800 Delta Street, a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed.  It is possible that these and other cases are related.

The suspects in all of these cases are believed to be Hispanic males affiliated with a street gang from Logan Heights.

Fugitive Suspect

Fugitive Suspect: Ricardo Rodriguez, aka Ricardo Rodriguez-Benitez

Victim: Isidro Valle Jr., 19

Date: September 13, 1993

Address: 3400 University Avenue

The victim, Isidro Valle, Jr., became involved in a physical altercation with Rodriguez.  Rodriguez and his brother Cristobal Benitez went after the victim, with Benitez firing the gun resulting in the death of the victim. Benitez was extradited from Venezuela in 1998 and found guilty of second degree murder. Rodriguez is still at large. 

Rodriguez is a Hispanic male born 12-28-67. He is 5’9” tall and weighs 140 lbs., with black hair, brown eyes. At the time of the incident he had a mustache. Immediately after the murder, it was believed that Rodriguez fled to Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico. However, Rodriguez is known to frequent both sides of the border.

Fugitive Suspect

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Fugitive Suspect: Luis Martinez

Victim: Franciso Perez

Date: September 21, 1993

Address: 2200 West Dunlop Street

Synopsis: Luis Chavez Martinez (5-14-52) is wanted for the murder of Francisco Perez that occurred on September 21, 1993.  There is an outstanding felony warrant charging Martinez with murder.

Luis Chavez Martinez, also known as “Big Nose Lou” is described as a Hispanic male, 5’4” tall and 145 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.  He has a scar over his left eye.

The murder for which Martinez is charged occurred at 2200 West Dunlop Street in Linda Vista.  The victim, Francisco “Paco” Perez and a group of friends were outside an apartment complex on that block.  The group eventually re-located to another complex across the street, where they were joined by the suspect Luis Martinez and another unidentified male.

An argument eventually broke out involving Martinez and Perez.  The two men left the group and continued to talk and argue as they approached Perez’s car.  Martinez suddenly struck Perez with his fist, produced a shotgun and shot Perez once in the neck. Martinez then struck Perez with the butt of the shotgun while Perez was on the ground.

Martinez fled the scene with his girlfriend at the time, Crystal Jacobo. 

Victim: Cliff Ellis

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Victim: K. Combs

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Victim: Cliff Ellis

Victim: Keith Combs

Date: September 25, 1993

Address: Open field – East end of Interstate 805 and Palm Avenue

Synopsis: The bodies of Cliff Ellis and Keith Combs, both sailors stationed aboard the USS Constellation, were found in an open field near Palm Avenue and Interstate 805.  Both young men had been shot to death, and Ellis’ white Toyota pickup truck was missing.  The field where their bodies were found was a popular gathering spot for young people who used it for off-roading during the day and partying at night.

On the previous evening, several groups of males and females, as well as groups of Hispanic males, had been partying and drinking in the same general area.  Combs and Ellis were drinking there with a small group of friends.  Eventually their group left, but Combs and Ellis decided to return to resume partying.  It was the last time they were seen alive.

Four days after the murder, a man named Leopoldo Chavez (a.k.a. “Weasel”) was arrested by police officers in Baja California while driving Ellis’s stolen pickup truck.  SDPD detectives went to Baja to interview Chavez but he refused to talk.

Fugitive Suspect

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Fugitive Suspect: Fermin Sanchez

Date: October 18, 1993

Address: 3800 Chamoune Avenue

Synopsis: Alfonso Cruz Gardido, also known as Fermin Soriano Sanchez and Alfonso Cruz Fernandez, is wanted for murder.  There is a felony murder warrant on file for Gardido with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.

Gardido is a Hispanic male, approximately 5’10” tall and 165 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes.  He has a light complexion with medium length, dark curly hair and a mustache. Gardido is a Mexican national and may be in Mexico or the United States.  Gardido should be considered dangerous and may still be in possession of a handgun.

The murder for which Gardido is charged occurred on October 18, 1993 on 3800 Chamoune Avenue.  The victim Lucky George Akpughe and the suspect Gardido became involved in an argument pertaining to assigned parking at the apartment complex they both inhabited.  While involved in the argument, Gardido suddenly produced a handgun and fired one shot that struck Akpughe in the top of the left shoulder. Akpughe was able to make it back to the doorway of his apartment where he collapsed.  Gardido fled the scene and was never apprehended.

At the time of the murder, Gardido had a girlfriend named Maria Peinado-Hernandez (3-3-47), and the girlfriend had a daughter named Mayra R. Hernandez (11-27-76).  These persons were not involved in the murder but detectives are interested in interviewing them.

Victim: Vera Campbell

Date: December 11, 1993

Address: 3576 45th Street

Synopsis: Vera Campbell lived alone in a single, detached house on 45th Street. On December 11, 1993, Campbell’s daughter showed up at the house to check on Campbell after trying unsuccessfully for two days to contact her.  The daughter found the side security door unlocked and standing open.  When the daughter went inside, she found her mother deceased lying on the floor in one of the rooms.  Campbell had apparently been strangled and beaten to death and the house had been ransacked.

Victim: Father Gutierrez

Date: April 26, 1994

Address: 711 Pacific Beach Drive

Synopsis: Father Louis Gutierrez was a Roman Catholic priest vacationing from the Los Angeles area.  He and a traveling companion, also a Catholic priest, visited San Diego and checked into adjoining rooms at the Surfer Motor Lodge at 711 Pacific Beach Drive.

At about 6 a.m. on April 26, 1994, the fellow priest was awakened by a crashing sound coming from Gutierrez’ room and the sound of a door slamming shut.  The companion eventually gained entry into Gutierrez’ room and discovered Gutierrez lying on the floor dead from a gunshot wound to the head.  The hotel room appeared to have been ransacked and the unknown suspect escaped without being seen.

Victim: Dave Earl Carr

Date: May 12, 1994

Address: 5114 El Cajon Boulevard

Synopsis: On May 12, 1994 SDPD officers responded to a shooting at 5114 El Cajon Blvd. and found the victim Dale Carr unconscious and suffering from a gunshot wound.  Carr was rushed to a hospital but died from his injury.

An investigation developed the following information: Carr had a prostitute working out of his apartment.  Earlier that evening, a customer had visited Carr’s apartment.  Carr accepted the customer’s payment up front, but later argued with him over the amount of change due.  Carr refused to back down and the man left angry.

The customer returned later the same day and requested another date.  Carr agreed and took the man into the bedroom to a waiting prostitute.  A short time later, Carr heard the woman scream, and when Carr entered the bedroom he was shot by the customer, who then fled.

Victim: Elias Daniel Encisco-Lopez, 15

Date: July 8, 1994

Address: 4000 38th Street

Synopsis: On the evening of July 8, 1994, Elias Lopez and his friend were walking westbound on University Avenue at 38th Street.  As they crossed the street, a white Ford Mustang turned onto 38th Street and stopped in the intersection in front of Lopez and his friend.  The driver, a young Hispanic man, confronted Lopez, yelled a gang challenge and then fired one shot from a handgun that struck Lopez in the chest.  The Mustang then sped away.  Witnesses saw at least two passengers in the car, both Hispanic males, in addition to the driver. Paramedics rushed Lopez to Mercy Hospital, but he died shortly after arrival.

Victim: Michael Dewayne Strong, 26

Date: September 14, 1994

Address: 4500 F Street

Synopsis: On the night of September 14, 1994 police officers responded to a report of a person down at 4500 ‘F’ Street. Upon their arrival, the officers found 26-year-old Michael Strong lying face-down in the street. Strong had sustained multiple gunshot wounds from several different firearms and was dead at the scene.

Several residents, upon being contacted and interviewed, reported hearing gunshots and a car speeding away at least fifteen minutes before Strong’s body was found. One resident saw two black men near the area, and a white mid-sized car like a Cadillac or Chrysler driving westbound on F Street with the lights off.

Victim: Patricia Lopez, 54

Date: October 1, 1994

Address: 4500 55th Street, near 54th & El Cajon Boulevard

Synopsis: Patricia Lopez, a 54-year-old mother of four, was shot and killed on the street in the 4500 block of 55th Street, near El Cajon Boulevard.  Lopez and a female companion were walking to a residence on 55th Street when they were suddenly confronted by two black males, who attempted to rob them at gunpoint.  During the robbery attempt, Lopez was shot and killed.  Lopez’s companion survived.  The unknown black male suspects were seen fleeing northbound on 55th Street after the attack.
UPDATE:
On August 4 and August 7, 2008, two suspects were arrested and booked into San Diego Central Jail for the murder of Patricia Lopez. The suspects are Khary Watson, age 31, and Tyrone Katrel Lynch, age 32. The case was investigated and solved by an FBI agent assigned to the SDPD Cold Case Team.

Fugitive Suspect

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Fugitive Suspect: Humberto DelToro, aka "Stranger" and "Beto"

Victim: Javier Orozco, 32

Date: October 2, 1994

Address: 3800 41st Street

On October 2, 1994, the victim Javier Orozco, along with two companions, were standing next to a parked truck on 3800 41st Street. The suspects approached Orozco and his friends on foot and opened fire with a shotgun. Orozco and one of his friends were struck; the friend survived his injuries but Orozco was killed. Detectives later learned the shooting had resulted from an altercation the previous day at a wedding reception in Linda Vista.

Two other suspects were arrested and convicted for this case. DelToro is still at large.

Victim: David Francis Hessler

Date: November 14, 1995

Address: 4400 Huggins Street

Synopsis: Patrol officers responded to a report of a shooting incident and found David Hessler lying in the front yard of his residence.  Hessler had been shot in the chest when he went outside at about 2 a.m. after hearing noises coming from his parked truck.  Hessler apparently interrupted a car break-in.  Hessler was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.

Hessler, a computer programmer and six-year employee of the UCSD School of Medicine, had left several items of bulky computer equipment in his Nissan Pathfinder overnight in preparation for a presentation the next day at the San Diego Convention Center.  These items were discovered missing from his vehicle after the shooting.

This unusual computer equipment, which was only compatible with equipment made by Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, may have been sold on the street.  See photos of the equipment pictured above; none of which has ever been recovered.

Victim

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Victim: Melissa Lynn King

Date: November 26, 1995

Address: 1200 3rd Avenue

The shooter was described as a black male, 20-25 years old, 5’10” 160-170 lbs., with an average build. He had short hair and medium to dark complexion, and was wearing a dark colored, hooded sweatshirt.
 
The vehicle from which the shooter exited was described as burgundy or wine-colored 1993-1995 four-door Mercedes sedan. It had five-star chrome rims, tinted side windows, and was lowered. 

Homicide detectives would like to interview an individual knows as “Cricket” regarding this case. No further details are known about Cricket, except that he may have information about the shooting.

Victim: Maria Villa-Martinez

Date: December 2, 1995

Address: Interstate 15 north of Adams Avenue

Synopsis: Maria Alicia Villa-Martinez worked as a seamstress in the National City area.  She was last seen alive on Sunday afternoon, November 26, 1995 when her boyfriend dropped her off at the Plaza Bonita Shopping Center, where she was scheduled to have her picture taken at the Montgomery Ward store.

When Villa-Martinez’s boyfriend returned home from work later that evening, she had not returned home. The boyfriend grew increasingly concerned as time passed and Villa-Martinez did not call or return home, and finally filed a missing person report four days after her disappearance.

On December 2, 1995, two boys were riding their bikes along the old Interstate 15 between Adams Avenue and Interstate 8 when they discovered the body of Villa-Martinez lying on the side of the road.  Police later determined that Villa-Martinez had been strangled to death.

Victim: Galdino “Dino” David Villarreal, 21

Date: December 9, 1995

Address: 7477 Guthrie Way

Synopsis: On the night of December 9, 1995, David Villareal was standing in his front yard talking to a friend, Shaun Theobalds when they saw a 1987 Chevrolet Nova occupied by three or four black males driving slowly down the street.  The vehicle unexpectedly stopped in front of Villareal’s house, at which time two passengers inside the vehicle began shooting.  Both Villareal and Theobalds were struck.

Theobalds was taken to the hospital and survived his wounds, but Villareal was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Chevrolet Nova was located a block away in an area by a pathway leading to a canyon, which could have been used as an escape route.  It had been stolen two days prior to the incident.

People who knew Villareal described him as a nice young man not known to get into trouble.  He had no known gang affiliations.

Victim: Joseph Trojanowski

Date: December 16, 1995

Address: 4801 University Avenue

Synopsis: The victim Joseph Trojanowski was the owner of J & S Brake and Front End Service at 4801 University Avenue.  On December 16, 1995, the property owner discovered Trojanowski lying on the floor of his garage, suffering from severe blunt-force trauma injuries. Trojanowski was conscious but could not talk.  Paramedics rushed him to a local hospital where he died.

 Trojanowski’s wallet containing cash and identification was missing.

Around the time of the murder, a witness saw a late 1980s, two-door, small white compact vehicle, similar to a Toyota or Nissan parked at the business.  The vehicle had a crystal-type object hanging from the inside rear view mirror.  The vehicle was occupied by two white males and a Hispanic male.

Further descriptions of the vehicle’s occupants are as follows:

A Hispanic male, 31-32 years old, short cropped beard, unshaven, dirty face, 5’5” to 5’ 7” about 170 pounds, wearing a dark blue hat with an unknown emblem on it, dark blue mechanic type uniform shirt with a white rectangular name tag and blue mechanic type uniform pants and dark shoes.

A white male, about 35 years old, heavy mustache, short light brown hair, wearing a dark colored t-shirt.

A white male in his 40s, 6’2” to 6’4” collar-length straight blond-graying hair, an obvious bald spot on the back of his head, short cropped blondish beard, blue Pendleton type shirt with rolled up sleeves, and blue jeans.

A subject named Jose Cain Castro, (aka Manuel Bravo and Manuel Bravo Castro), is a person of interest in this case.  SDPD detectives wanted to question Castro, but he vanished shortly after the murder and his whereabouts are unknown.  It is possible Castro is now using another name. Castro is considered a witness only at this time. (See photo pictured above.)

Jose Cain Castro is a Hispanic male, DOB 5-20-69, 5’6” tall and 180 pounds.   He has a previous arrest for narcotics.