Juan Carlos Rios, a 36-year-old resident of Strathmore, California, was ambushed outside his home on Avenue 204 on December 18, 2014, and died on December 25, 2014, from multiple gunshot wounds. Several men hiding in a nearby orchard opened fire as he was opening his front gate. A 4-year-old boy, the son of Rios’s girlfriend, was inside Rios’s truck and witnessed the shooting but could not give useful information to investigators.

Rios was airlifted to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno and remained on life support for several days before his family elected to withdraw support. His organs were donated and his heart was transplanted into another person. The Tulare County Sheriff’s Department describes the case as unsolved; no suspects have been identified and investigators say they have found no evidence linking Rios to gang activity or other criminal affiliations.

His family remembers him as a hardworking, generous man devoted to his children and family. The homicide unit has expanded its cold-case efforts and continues to seek tips. If anyone knew Juan Carlos Rios or has information about the ambush on Avenue 204, please come forward.