Saul Guadalupe Santos, 58, was killed on the morning of Sunday, August 11, 2024, in Salinas, California. He left home for a routine walk to a menudo restaurant on North Main Street and, near his parked vehicle in the 2200 block of North Main at about 7:10 a.m., was approached by a man in what police described as a robbery and carjacking. Santos struggled with the assailant, fought back, and was shot multiple times. Witnesses reported the attacker fled in Santos’s blue Ford Explorer; officers found him lying in the roadway and he later died at a local hospital. Police recovered the abandoned vehicle elsewhere in the city.

An investigation by Salinas Police and the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Taskforce led to the arrest of 23-year-old Ismael Zendejas Lopez on August 15, 2024. He was booked on a charge of first-degree murder, pleaded not guilty at his August 19 court appearance, and was held without bail. Santos was remembered by family as a hardworking, dependable father and grandfather; his partner is Nerelida. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Alejandro Zamora at 831-758-7148 or the anonymous tip line at 831-758-7407.

Did anyone in Salinas see the blue Ford Explorer or the suspect the morning of August 11?