Man dead after drive-by shooting in Laton

LATON, Calif. (KFSN) -- The holiday weekend took a deadly turn in one small Fresno County community. Now, detectives are searching for suspects in the murder of a 41-year-old man.

Deputies say the victim was killed during a drive-by shooting near Murphy and Gonser streets in Laton Saturday night.

When first responders arrived at the scene, they knew the victim needed to be life-flighted. The helicopter landed at Laton High School to meet the first responders and the victim, but the man had died before they could take him to the hospital.

Kim Cruz says she heard about five to six popping noises down the street just before 10:30 p.m.

"Sound travels and so it wasn't until I started seeing flashing lights and hearing ambulances, or sirens I should say, that I started to wonder is that what I heard -- gunshots?" she said.

Cruz was right. Ronnie Montalvo, 41, was shot multiple times in a neighbor's driveway on Gonser Street.

"Apparently a dark-colored late '90s, early 2000s Dodge Neon pulled in front of a house and fired multiple shots at our victim," said Sgt. John Souza of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.

According to sheriff's investigators, the victim didn't live at the house. And it's unclear why he was outside when he was shot by the suspect, who used a handgun.

Cruz says during the 17 years she's lived there, she's never seen violence like this in her small town.

"You still don't know what's happening. You don't know who's all involved," she said. "And especially at this time of year, you don't ever want anything like that to happen this time of year."

Investigators are still trying to figure out who's involved in this deadly shooting and can't confirm if it's gang-related or not.