On the evening of November 22, 2017, the day before Thanksgiving, 23-year-old Hispanic male, Christian Miguel Barajas, was killed in what was reported as a drive-by shooting in Medford, Oregon. At approximately 5:42 p.m., police were dispatched to the 300 block of Chestnut Street after receiving calls about shots being fired. When officers arrived just minutes later, they discovered Barajas lying unresponsive on the sidewalk; he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
An autopsy later determined that Barajas had been shot four times.
During the initial investigation, onlookers reported seeing a "black Dodge Caravan" or a dark-colored minivan leaving the area. Detectives obtained surveillance video that showed Barajas interacting with the driver of a minivan shortly before the incident, but the shooting itself was not captured on video, and the vehicle's license plate was not identifiable. Investigators found a firearm zipped inside an interior pocket of Barajas's sweatshirt. Early in the case, Raul Meza-Solorio was identified as a person of interest. Search warrants were served at his home and on a minivan believed to be involved, but authorities could not find enough evidence to make an arrest at the time. The investigation was hampered by uncooperative witnesses, and with all leads exhausted, the case went cold, though it remained open and active.
For nearly six years, the murder of Christian Barajas remained unsolved. However, investigators remained committed to the case. A breakthrough occurred in October 2023 when detectives re-interviewed a key witness who had been a juvenile at the time of the shooting. Now an adult, the witness was more forthcoming with crucial information that implicated Raul Meza-Solorio as the sole suspect. The witness, who had been dating Meza-Solorio in 2017, revealed that Meza-Solorio's AK-47 rifle had been stolen from a residence on Chestnut Street where they were staying. She recounted that on the day of the shooting, she and Meza-Solorio spotted Barajas outside a market. Meza-Solorio confronted Barajas, accusing him of having the stolen gun, which Barajas denied.
Following the confrontation, Meza-Solorio got back into his minivan with the witness, made a U-turn, and pulled up alongside Barajas. He then reclined the passenger seat where the witness was sitting, reached across her, rolled down the window, and fired three to five shots at Barajas. After the shooting, Meza-Solorio drove them to his father's house, and they disposed of the gun the next day; the weapon was never recovered. Based on this new testimony, which corroborated details from the initial investigation, Raul Meza-Solorio, then 27, was arrested without incident on November 1, 2023. He was initially charged with second-degree murder. Ultimately, Meza-Solorio pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter. The decision to accept the plea was made after consultation with Barajas's family regarding the risks of a trial. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, to be followed by three years of post-prison supervision.
