Police looking for suspects in Lemoore killings, the city's first homicides in five years

LEMOORE, Calif. (KFSN) -- Police in Lemoore are focused on solving two gang-related murders that have happened in the span of a week.

Police haven't yet released his name, but friends who didn't want to be identified say Wednesday's homicide victim was 26-year-old Anthony Magana.

They say he lived at an apartment complex off Hanford Armona Road. Lemoore police responded to that area Wednesday afternoon for reports of a stabbing victim. But despite trying to save his life, Magana was pronounced dead at the scene.

"I don't know, I'm speechless," said one of the friends who didn't want to be identified.

Friends say Magana was caring and committed to everyone he knew, and happy. They also say he leaves a seven-month-old son behind.

"All I know (is that) I'm going to miss him I'm going to miss him calling me, waking me up," she said.

"Obviously this is very disturbing to our community, it's even more disturbing to us as an agency," said Lemoore Police Commander Margarita Ochoa.

After five years without a murder, Ochoa says this is the city's second homicide in a week. They happened within blocks of each other.

Last Wednesday, police responded to an apartment at Westberry Square, where they found 16-year-old Wanya Jones stabbed.

Jones later died at a Hanford hospital.

Ochoa says both murders were isolated incidents but believes they are both gang-related.

"We've formed some operation task forces, they'll be out, they'll be city-wide," she said. "They are going to be contacting gang members and associates of gang members."

The task forces are part of what Ochoa describes as an aggressive and proactive approach to solving the two murders in hopes of bringing a sense of peace to the department, the Lemoore community, and the families of the victims.