Omar Gonzalez, a 40-year-old Hispanic man from Concord, California, was a devoted father, husband, and mechanic known for his kind heart and community involvement. He was especially beloved as a former youth baseball coach for the Concord Junior Giants league, where he mentored young players from 2016 to 2021. The league’s commissioner remembered him as family, someone who “poured his heart” into the team and made everyone feel valued.
His brother, Lorenzo Sanchez, described him as a loving father who worked hard for his family. A fundraiser described him as the life of every gathering, a kind-hearted soul whose presence lit up every room.
In the early hours of April 14, 2025, around 3 a.m., Concord police officers near Monument Boulevard heard gunshots. They responded to the area and found Omar Gonzalez on the ground near the intersection of Monument Boulevard and Reganti Drive. He had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators learned that Gonzalez was not the intended target of the shooting.
The investigation revealed that the incident began with a dispute in a parking lot on Monument Boulevard between a man and a group of other people. The man, later identified as Chance Martin, a 27-year-old from Pittsburg, drove away from the argument. A short time later, he returned in his vehicle and fired multiple shots from the window toward the group he had been arguing with. One of the bullets tragically struck and killed Gonzalez.
Concord Police Department detectives quickly identified Martin as the suspect. On April 16, 2025, just two days after the shooting, authorities served warrants and arrested him. The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office initially charged Martin with murder.
In June 2026, Chance Martin, then 28, accepted a plea deal. He pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm, and the original murder charge was dropped. He was sentenced to 25 years in state prison. As of August 2026, court records showed he had been transferred to the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi to begin serving his sentence.
