Saul Guadalupe Santos

Saul Guadalupe Santos was a hardworking and humble man who his family knew they could always depend on. The 58-year-old Hispanic man was a father of three, a grandfather of three, and had been with his partner, Nerelida, for 32 years. Living in Salinas, California, he was remembered by his children as a good person who was always willing to lend a hand to family and friends.

On the morning of Sunday, August 11, 2024, Santos left home for his routine walk to a favorite menudo restaurant on North Main Street. Around 7:10 a.m., while he was near his parked vehicle in the 2200 block of North Main, a man approached him in what police described as a robbery and carjacking. According to the acting police chief, Santos was involved in a struggle with the assailant and fought back. The suspect then drew a weapon and shot him multiple times.

The attacker fled the scene in Santos’s blue Ford Explorer, which witnesses saw speeding away. When officers arrived, they found Santos lying in the roadway with multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries. Police later located his vehicle abandoned elsewhere in the city. The killing of the "completely innocent" man, as the police chief called him, devastated his family. "We were expecting him to come back," his eldest son said.

An investigation by Salinas Police detectives, patrol officers, and the U.S. Marshals Service Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Taskforce led to an arrest four days later. On August 15, authorities located 23-year-old Ismael Zendejas Lopez and took him into custody without incident. He was booked into the Monterey County Jail and charged with first-degree murder. Police stated that there were no additional outstanding suspects in the case.

Lopez made his first court appearance on August 19, 2024, where he pleaded not guilty. A public defender was assigned to his case, and he was ordered to be held without bail. As of August 2024, the case was proceeding through the court system. Santos's wife, Nerelida, asked for justice, saying, "I don't want another family to suffer what my family is suffering." The Salinas Police Department encouraged anyone with information to call Detective Alejandro Zamora at 831-758-7148 or their anonymous tip line at 831-758-7407.