On March 20, 2016, at approximately 3:50 am, Monterey County Communications received a 911 call regarding a victim of a shooting at a residence in the 1100 block of Ranchero Dr. The caller, who was not at the scene, said the shooting had occurred about 30 minutes prior to calling in but reported the male was dead in the living room of the residence. Officers arrived, looked through a living room window and saw a male on the living room floor. Officers forced entry into the residence and found 21-year-old Ruben Estrada suffering from gunshots wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation has revealed there was a party at the residence during the evening, into the early morning hours. For unknown reasons there obviously was some type of altercation, ending in the shooting of Estrada. There was no call to 911 when the actual shooting occurred and, although there were several people at the party, no one was at the residence when officers arrived.
Estrada is not a known gang member with the Salinas Police Department and the motive for this Murder is unknown. This is the 8th homicide in Salinas this year.
If anyone has information regarding this homicide, they are asked to contact Detective Gansen at (831) 758-7137 or by email at byrong@ci.salinas.ca.us; or Detective Sivertson at (831) 758-7132. If you would like to remain anonymous, you can call the Salinas Police Department Tip Line at (831) 775-4222, or the We-Tip Line at 1-800-78 CRIME, or text information to the Text to the Text Tip Line with the code "SPD831" to "847411".