2 arrested for deadly drive-by shooting in Hanford, police say

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- Two suspects have been arrested for a drive-by shooting that killed a man in Hanford last month.

23-year-old Cruz Avalos was returning from lunch on the afternoon of October 23rd when he was shot in a drive-by shooting on Lacey Boulevard and 10th Avenue, just blocks from his workplace in Hanford.

For more than a month, no charges were announced publicly in his case until Tuesday.

The Hanford Police Department announced 19-year-olds Roman Perdue and Jordan Sanchez were charged in Avalos' murder.

Perdue was initially arrested just days after the shooting but no charges were filed by the Kings County District Attorney's Office at the time.

District Attorney Sarah Hacker says they wanted to make sure the case was handled correctly.

"A lot of the times these drive-by shootings are really difficult to prove and before we took any further legal steps we wanted to ensure we had the right person and that we could prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," said Hacker.

Hacker also addressed how a 16-year-old had previously been arrested and released in the case.

"Unfortunately, we ended up misidentifying the first suspect. Which again, makes it all that much more important that we pursue and charge the right person," Hacker explained.

In the weeks following the shooting, police say they uncovered evidence that shows Perdue shot Avalos and Sanchez was the driver of the car Perdue fired from.

RELATED: 19-year-old suspect in Hanford homicide injured in shooting near Lemoore

Perdue was arrested near the California-Arizona border on Tuesday and booked into the Kings County Jail on homicide charges.

Sanchez had already been arrested on November 13th in Southern California and arraigned on the 18th.

He entered a not guilty plea and is scheduled to return to court for a bail review hearing on December 2nd.

No court date has been set for Perdue yet.

According to the district attorney, Perdue has a prior felony strike for aggravated battery with serious bodily injury.

No motive has been released at this time.

Both men are being held without bail.

Hacker says the way the charges are written that both men could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on all charges.

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