Details of charges against suspected killer
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Suspected contract killer Jose Manuel Martinez has been charged with killing nine people in three California counties since 1980. Authorities released these details about the slayings:
— David Bedolla, 23, of Lindsay, Calif., was shot in October 1980 while driving his vehicle to work with his wife, brother, and brother-in-law. The shooting took place between Lindsay and Strathmore in Tulare County.
— Sylvester Ayon, 30, was shot and killed and a 17-year-old was wounded on Oct. 1, 1982, while they were working on a ranch near the Santa Ynez area of Santa Barbara County.
— Ranchers found the body of Raul Gonzalez, 22, of Earlimart, Calif. in Tulare County, east of Porterville on Oct. 21, 1982. He had been shot and stabbed. He was last been seen at his home two days earlier.
— The body of Domingo Perez, 29, of Earlimart, Calif., was found with multiple gunshot wounds on May 23, 1995, in an orange grove just north of Richgrove in Tulare County. His family had reported him missing in April.
— Santiago Perez, 56, of Pixley, Calif. in Tulare County, was shot to death in his bed in the early morning hours of February 14, 2000. The victim's four minor children were home at the time of the shooting.
— Jose Alvarado, 25, of Kern County, was killed in February 2007. He was found with multiple gunshot wounds on a dirt road outside of McFarland in Kern County.
— Juan Bautista Moreno, 52, of Kern County, was killed in March 2009. He was found with multiple gunshot wounds in an orange grove near McFarland in Kern County.
— Joaquin Barragan, 45, of Earlimart, Calif., was killed in September 2009. Ranchers found him with multiple gunshot wounds on the bank of a creek canal just east of Earlimart by ranchers working the area. He had been missing for a few days.
— Gonzalo Urquieta, 54, of Earlimart, Calif., was killed in February 2011. He was found with multiple gunshot wounds in an orange grove just outside of the town of Richgrove. He had been missing for a few days.
