No charges filed after arrest in deadly drive-by shooting in Hanford

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) — No charges have been filed after a 19-year-old suspect in a deadly drive-by shooting in Hanford was released from jail this week.

The shooting happened Wednesday afternoon near Lacey Boulevard and 10th Avenue.

Hanford Police say 23-year-old Cruz Avalos was making a U-turn in his car when he was shot by someone in a passing vehicle.

Avalos was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.

On Monday, police announced the arrest of 19-year-old Roman Perdue of Hanford.

“We have identified a suspect who is currently in custody. He is a 19 year old here in the town of Hanford. His name is Roman Perdue.”

The arrest comes after police took a 16-year-old suspect into custody hours after Avalos was killed.

Over the weekend, police said the teen is no longer a suspect in the fatal shooting.

“It is not ideal that we had initially identified another party that was not involved in our shooting at the time,” said Hanford Police Chief Stephanie Huddleston.

“We were working based on the information we had and sometimes those errors happen. The important thing is to continue to investigate thoroughly and make sure that you know this is the right person and that we have been able to determine that this is not the was the case.”

Although the 16-year-old has now been acquitted in the murder case, he still faces firearms charges.

Kings County sheriff’s deputies say they discovered a 9-millimeter handgun on him when he was arrested after fleeing the scene of an unrelated shooting that injured a man at the Santa Rosa Rancheria near Lemoore Thursday morning.

He was arraigned on Monday.

“The new charges against the 16-year-old were related to the crimes the sheriff described last week,” said Kings County District Attorney Sarah Hacker.

Hacker says Cruz Avalos’ family has been informed of the latest developments in the case, which she hopes will bring them one step closer to justice and closure.

“My heart goes out to them. This is a tragic event. We really sympathize with their situation and what they are going through,” said Chief Huddleston.

The 19-year-old suspect is now charged with murder in connection with the shooting of Cruz Avalos.

This is the third homicide this year for the city of Hanford.

On Thursday, Action News learned that Perdue is out of jail and no charges have been filed.

We have reached out to the Kings County District Attorney’s Office but have not heard back.

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