Newman man killed in gang-related shooting, police say

Original story ran July 12, 2004

Someone shot and killed a Newman man as he rode his bicycle a block from the Police Department on Saturday night.

Sheriff's detectives and Newman Police Department officers spent all day Sunday investigating the death of Reuben Neuman, 22. Detectives said it was a gang-related killing and the first homicide of the year for the town.

Neuman was killed at Kern and P streets, one block from the Police Department and City Hall, said Tom Letras, spokesman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

Neighbors in the area told police they heard the shots at about 10:35 p.m. Saturday, Letras said.

"The victim was riding his bike when several people in two different vehicles pulled up alongside him," Letras said. "They got into some sort of argument, and then he was shot."

He was hit in the upper half of his body, said Detective Jim Silva.

The vehicles were described as a dark-colored sport utility vehicle and a small primer-gray pickup truck. One vehicle was seen speeding off south on P Street. Witnesses were not clear where the other vehicle headed, Silva said.

Neuman was alive when paramedics arrived and was taken by ambulance to a field where a helicopter was scheduled to pick him up, but he died before the helicopter landed, Silva said.

Detectives spent Saturday night and Sunday afternoon talking to neighbors and other witnesses, Letras said. The Newman Police Department asked the Sheriff's Department to assist with the investigation, he added.

Neuman was described as a "known gang member," Silva said.

"We are looking at this as gang violence," Silva said. "This just shows how bad gangs have become in our county."

Neuman's death is the first homicide of the year for Newman and the ninth of the year being investigated by the Sheriff's Department, Silva said.

Police ask anyone with information about the shooting or the location of either suspect vehicle to call Newman Police at 862-2902 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. or sheriff's Detective Marc Nuno at 525-7081.