On January 12, 2017, 27-year-old Jose Luis Flores-Vargas was shot and killed on the 500 block of Sunrise Street in Salinas, California. Officers responding after multiple gunshots and a ShotSpotter activation found four people with gunshot wounds; Flores-Vargas and 25-year-old Alejandro Ramirez were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators reported that none of the victims were gang-affiliated.

Detectives later tied the attack to a group identified as the Murder Squad, described as a subset of the Norteño gang, and said the January 12 shooting was the first killing attributed to that group. The investigation expanded into a multiagency probe and led to arrests: search warrants issued January 21, 2021, named Ryan Meza, 27, and Joseph Garcia, 25, and both were later taken into custody and charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with the case. The shootings are part of a broader racketeering investigation into the Murder Squad’s alleged pattern of violence in Salinas.

If anyone has information about the January 12, 2017 shooting or knew Jose Luis Flores-Vargas, please come forward.