A man suspected of killing a 29-year-old Santa Maria resident in a shooting early Friday morning was located and arrested while riding a bicycle Saturday night.
Shortly after 2 a.m. Friday, officers from the Santa Maria Police Department were dispatched to a report of a shooting victim inside a vehicle near the Highway 101 overpass at North Broadway, police Lt. Terry Flaa said.
Officers found a man who had been wounded in a shooting in a vehicle.
The victim, Frankie Placido Hernandez, 29, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators determined that the shooting occurred near a business on the 100 block of East Grant Street.
Police on Saturday named Erik Fernandez Rocha, 20, of Santa Maria as a suspect in the shooting, and said a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
“The exact motive for the shooting is still under investigation,” Flaa said. “This incident does not appear to be gang-related.”
Detectives did not say what led them to identify Rocha as the suspect.
Police and Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies began an extensive search and surveillance operation for Rocha,
A couple of hours after notifying the public about the warrant issued for Rocha’s arrest, detectives located him riding a bicycle near Donovan Road and Elm Street.
He was arrested and booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of murder.
Anyone with information related to the investigation can call the Santa Maria Police Department at 805.928.3781 x2277; the tip line at 805.928.3781 x2677 (COPS); or Detective Zack Robbins at 805.928.3781 x1361.
It was the fourth homicide in Santa Maria since the start of 2021. Another homicide occurred outside the city in the Tanglewood neighborhood, where a man shot and killed his wife.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.