Arrests made in shooting death of teen visiting Lodi
Dec. 11—A teenage boy and a Lodi man are in custody in connection with the Thanksgiving weekend murder of a Pittsburg resident who was visiting family.
The Lodi Police Department announced that officers arrested a 15-year-old Delhi boy on Dec. 8 on suspicion of murdering 16-year-old Alan Ruiz, Jr.
The teen was booked into Peterson Juvenile Hall in French Camp. His identity is withheld because he is a minor.
During the investigation, detectives identified 30-year-old Alberto Valentin of Lodi as a co-conspirator of the crime, and served a search warrant at his home Sunday morning.
Valentin was not in the home, but detectives learned he was in Tracy. San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Valentin in the area of Waterloo Road and Highway 99 later that day, police said.
A search of Valentin's vehicle found a firearm, and he was arrested on suspicion of homicide, weapons violations, and gang enhancements, police said.
He was booked into San Joaquin County Jail without bail and appeared in court today (Tuesday) for arraignment.
According to San Joaquin County Superior Court records, Valentin was arrested in 2013 on suspicion of possession of a loaded firearm with a missing identification number and carrying a loaded firearm in public.
The following year, he was arrested on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in public, possession of marijuana on school grounds and failure to appear in court.
On Nov. 25 at about 11:15 a.m., officers responded to a shooting in the 600 block of Hale Road and found Ruiz suffering from life-threatening gunshot wounds. He was transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Ruiz was visiting his father for Thanksgiving and teenagers at the apartment complex where he lived continually asked Ruiz with which gang he was associated, according to family members.
Ruiz was walking with a girl he had met at the complex later that evening when someone approached from behind and shot him, relatives said.