Daniel Castillo was 18 and days away from graduating from Salinas High School when he was shot and killed on June 8, 2014. He was walking through La Paz Middle School with a friend when a group of Sureno gang members spotted them. Agustine Lopez, then 20, got out of a vehicle and fired six rounds into Castillo; Castillo died that afternoon.

Lopez fled in a car driven by Rene Vasquez, then 26. Vasquez later asked his girlfriend to report the vehicle stolen in an apparent effort to cover their involvement. Both men were arrested; Lopez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, admitting he fired the shot that caused great bodily injury, and received 50 years to life. Vasquez pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, admitted a prior strike, a prior serious felony, and a gang enhancement, and was sentenced to 39 years and four months.

The case underscored Salinas’s struggles with gang violence and resulted in prosecution by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office. Does anyone have information about Castillo’s last days or connections in Salinas that could add context to what happened?