Charges have been filed against 16-year-old suspect in fatal shooting in Hanford

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) — Charges have now been filed against a 16-year-old suspect in a fatal shooting in Hanford this week.

A small memorial made of balloons and candles now stands at the Hanford intersection where Cruz Avalos was shot Wednesday afternoon.

“I don’t know why this is happening. There’s too much violence in the valley,” said Mike Adrian Jimenez, Cruz’s cousin.

Jimenez now thinks about what he will miss most about Cruz.

“His laugh, smile. His smile. He was really happy,” Jimenez said.

Cruz’s mother, Veronica Parker, tells Action News her son was quoted: “My old soul, he made us laugh. He always made us laugh. He was our joker.” Final quote.

The 23-year-old had been just minutes back from his shift at Borba’s Auto Body Shop when he was shot in his car as he turned onto 10th Avenue from Lacey Boulevard.

Security surveillance footage shows the moments a black Nissan Versa drives alongside Cruz’s white car.

The video shows the Versa accelerating while Cruz’s car comes to a complete stop.

A few hours later, Kings County officers responded to a call of a person shot at the Santa Rosa Rancheria near Lemoore. Officers spotted two people running in the parking lot of the Tachi Palace Casino Resort.

“Officers stopped both individuals and were able to quickly identify the 16-year-old male subject as the subject identified by the Hanford Police Department as the homicide victim,” Kings County Sheriff David Robinson said.

Authorities believe the teen was both the driver and shooter in the Hanford murder … and they say he has a history with law enforcement.

“We received a referral from the probation office. Our office was given the opportunity to review the information in the referral and a charging decision was made,” said Kings County District Attorney Sarah Hacker.

Hacker says her office can only disclose limited information in cases involving juvenile offenders, but believes there needs to be accountability.

“Juvenile offenders, like any other offender, can commit terrible, terrible crimes, and those crimes impact victims in the same way as if an adult offender had committed those crimes,” Hacker said.

The 16-year-old suspect is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, and then we expect to find out what charges will be filed against him.

As for the victim’s family, they expect a big outpouring of support for Cruz during a vigil at 10th Avenue and Lacey Boulevard on Friday evening.

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