4 arrested in wake of homicides

About 40 rounds fired as Winton men were slain

By Danielle Gaines
dgaines@mercedsun-star.com

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WINTON — Four people were arrested, including one on suspicion of murder, Thursday after state and local law enforcement agencies blanketed the Winton area in response to a double homicide there last week.

Winton resident Maximilliano Navarro, 30, is being held without bail at the John Latorraca Correctional Center as the chief suspect in the shooting, which left two dead and three injured.

Winton residents Andres Rodriguez, 21, and Abraham Valenzuela, 18, were shot outside a house in the 7000 block of Peridot Avenue on May 26.

Investigators said the victims were approached by three or four people. About 40 rounds were fired.

Rodriguez, who used a wheelchair because of a previous shooting, died in the driveway of the home. Valenzuela was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The crime carried gang overtones, according to investigators, and a shooting in Atwater four weeks ago may have led to the shooting on Peridot Avenue.

Sheriff Mark Pazin announced the arrests at a news conference Friday and used the event to lash out against gangs in the county.

"Approximately a week and a half ago, we had a terrible shooting by some domestic terrorists," he said. "You may call them gang members; I call them terrorists."

Pazin said he would not disclose any affiliations to avoid giving those gangs credit for the crime.

Pazin said the Sheriff's Department coordinated " ... about 60 officers to blanket this area in what I would call a 'lightning strike' " in response to the double homicide.

Seven agencies took part in the 12-hour sweep and searched 38 locations in the Atwater, Livingston and Winton areas.

Also arrested were Edgar Duran, 19, of Winton on suspicion of robbery, bail $165,000; Ipolita Ibarra, 43, of Winton on suspicion of sales of narcotics, bail $12,000; and Jessica Cisneros, 18, of Winton on a probation violation on suspicion of possession of a sawed-off shotgun, no bail.

The suspects are gang members or have some type of gang affiliation, sheriff's spokesman deputy Tom MacKenzie said.