Anthony Joel Suarez, 20, of Salinas, California, was found dead on February 14, 2022, on upper San Juan Grade Road. A father driving his daughter to school discovered Suarez lying next to a vehicle; the man had been shot and was unresponsive. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim and investigators described the wound as execution-style, a shot to the back of the head after the victim had fallen.

Detectives treated the killing as gang-related. Over the following month they interviewed gang members, reviewed surveillance, and retraced Suarez’s last movements. Two suspects were arrested: 20-year-old Adam Villareal, already in county jail on a probation violation, was charged with murder, grand theft, and participating in a gang and pleaded not guilty at his initial hearing; and 28-year-old Vicente Alejandro Aguirre, who was taken into custody after a rooftop/balcony escape attempt and a foot pursuit involving a police dog and was treated at a hospital for injuries before booking on suspicion of homicide.

Anyone who knew Anthony, his whereabouts that day, or who has information about the shooting is asked to come forward.