Investigations

In 10 years, 114 Sacramento teenagers died violently. Here are all of them

By Ryan Lillis and Nathaniel Levine

rlillis@sacbee.com

Updated January 14, 2019 2:21 PM

How they died

Over the past 10 years, violence has taken the lives of 114 Sacramento teens

By Ryan Lillis and Nathaniel Levine

rlillis@sacbee.com

June 22, 2017 6:00 AM

Young people between the ages of 15 and 19 were twice as likely to be killed in Sacramento County as the general population. More teens were killed by gunshot wounds to the head than by any other means, and guns were used to kill teenagers here at a significantly higher rate than the national average.

Here are the 114 teenagers who died violently in Sacramento County since 2007.

Do you have a photo that we are missing? Please send it to us.

2017

Daniel Murti

Age: 19

Died: 5/11/17

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds

Murti and his 15-year-old brother, Sergio, were gunned down in broad daylight in the parking lot of a strip mall on busy Fruitridge Road. Police hunted their alleged killers and dozens of family members gathered across the street from the homicide scene, sitting and crying for hours as the boys’ bodies remained covered by black blankets in the parking lot. Two men have been charged in the killings.

Sergio Murti

Age: 15

Died: 5/11/17

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds

Murti and his 19-year-old brother, Daniel, were gunned down in broad daylight in the parking lot of a strip mall on busy Fruitridge Road. Police hunted their alleged killers and dozens of family members gathered across the street from the homicide scene, sitting and crying for hours as the boys’ bodies remained covered by black blankets in the parking lot. Two men have been charged in the killings.

Jordan Pannell

Age: 17

Died: 5/6/17

Cause of death: Pending

Pannell was at a Cinco de Mayo party in Foothill Farms. An argument broke out over a song being played. Pannell intervened and headed outside with a man who allegedly had escalated the argument. A few minutes later, Pannell was shot on the front lawn and was pronounced dead at the scene. An 18-year-old man has been charged with his murder.

Russell Jarvis

Age: 18

Died: 5/1/17

Cause of death: Stab wounds of the chest

Jarvis, a Roseville resident, was found stabbed outside a Rio Linda home. Sheriff’s deputies said Jarvis and a resident of the home had past issues, and that the two fought. Jarvis’ alleged assailant was found injured at the scene and has since been charged with murder.

Glen Myers

Age: 18

Died: 4/23/17

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds

Myers and his girlfriend, 18-year-old Ahjanique Hodges, were found shot to death in the street near a South Sacramento house police suspected was being used to illegally grow marijuana. Myers and Hodges were suspected of trying to rob the pot house when they were confronted outside by a man connected to the home. That man, Sean Huang, 46, faces two counts of murder.

Ahjanique Hodges

Age: 18

Died: 4/23/17

Cause of death: Multiple gunshot wounds

Hodges and her boyfriend, 18-year-old Glen Myers, were found shot to death in the street near a South Sacramento house police suspected was being used to illegally grow marijuana. Myers and Hodges were suspected of trying to rob the pot house when they were confronted outside by a man connected to the home. That man, Sean Huang, 46, faces two counts of murder.

Mia Vasquez

Age: 14

Died: 3/23/17

Cause of death: Blunt force injuries

Vasquez was found dead in her South Land Park home along with her mother, brother and cousin. She was a student at Sam Brannan Middle School and a goalkeeper on the school’s soccer team. Her father, Salvador Vasquez-Oliva, has been charged with four counts of murder in the deaths.

2016

Alessa Rojas

Age: 18

Died: 11/26/16

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the torso

Residents of Langley Way in North Highlands started calling 911 a few minutes before noon on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. One said there was a young woman in the street, bleeding. When sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found Rojas, who was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Investigators said she was sitting in a car with two men, one of whom had a gun. The gun went off and Rojas was shot. One of the men, 18-year-old Jessie Frazee, was arrested a week later and charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Raul Fischer Rodriguez

Age: 15

Died: 11/21/16.

Cause of death: Stabbed

Rodriguez, a student at El Camino Fundamental High School, was stabbed during a large fight in an Arden Arcade parking lot. His father and brother were injured during the fight but survived.

Gurnoor Singh

Age: 17

Died: 11/8/16

Cause of death: Gunshot

Singh was found shot to death in his grandmother’s North Natomas garage on Election Night. Investigators said they had few clues in the homicide.

Deonte Whiteside

Age: 17

Died: 6/23/16

Cause of death: Gunshot

Whiteside was lured out of his Valley Hi home late at night and shot. Six young men were charged in his death and the related non-fatal shooting of a 15-year-old girl in Elk Grove.

Sergey Makarenko

Age: 17

Died: 6/18/16

Cause of death: Gunshot

Makarenko was shot by a Sacramento sheriff’s deputy following a five-minute car chase through Carmichael. Sheriff’s officials said Makarenko, who didn’t have a driver’s license, drove a car in reverse toward deputies after he was cornered.

Deston Garrett

Age: 19

Died: 6/11/16

Cause of death: Gunshot

The former Sacramento Charter High School football player was shot to death inside his family’s Oak Park home. A long-time family friend faces charges in the homicide.

Macy Murphy

Age: 15

Died: 5/29/16

Cause of death: Gunshot

Murphy was found shot to death in a car in a quiet south Sacramento neighborhood. Christopher Simpson, 17, was arrested in her death.

Christian Torres

Age: 19

Died: 2/26/16

Cause of death: Gunshot

The recent Rio Linda High School grad nicknamed “Gordo” was driving on Norwood Avenue in north Sacramento when someone in another vehicle fired multiple rounds into his vehicle. No arrests have been made.

2015

Jaulon “J.J.” Clavo

Age: 17

Died: 11/13/15

Cause of death: Gunshot

Clavo, a popular football player at Grant High School nicknamed “JJ,” was in a car with some teammates in a tough north Sacramento neighborhood when he was shot. His death rallied the Del Paso Heights neighborhood. A 16-year-old boy was arrested in the killing.

Isaiah Diaz

Age: 16

Died: 10/3/15

Cause of death: Gunshot to pelvis

Diaz was standing in front of his grandmother’s home in Sacramento’s Colonial Village neighborhood. Someone drove up and shot him. No arrests have been made and Diaz’s family said it has been unfairly targeted by police for holding vigils at the murder scene.

Zai Wu

Age: 18

Died: 9/1/15

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Wu was playing video games in his room in a Lemon Hill apartment. A fight erupted outside, he was hit by a stray bullet and killed. Two suspects were arrested.

Kaveon Plummer-Lee

Age: 19

Died: 8/9/15

Cause of death: Stabbed in the torso

Sheriff’s investigators said Plummer-Lee was robbing someone in a North Highlands home invasion when he was stabbed by the robbery victim in self-defense. Detectives said Plummer-Lee was armed during the alleged robbery.

Joseph Burrola

Age: 17

Died: 6/21/15

Cause of death: Gunshot to the back

Just weeks from graduating high school and with aspirations of joining the Coast Guard, Burrola was at a house party with friends in Rancho Cordova. A huge fight broke out. Shots rang out and the party-goers ran. Burrola – who wasn’t involved in the fight – was shot in the back and died.

Jamison Daggs

Age: 18

Died: 6/12/15

Cause of death: Gunshot to the head

Daggs was found slumped over the steering wheel of a car at the intersection of Stockton Boulevard and Florin Road in south Sacramento. Two teens were arrested in the homicide.

Erik Ozee

Age: 16

Died: 5/31/15

Cause of death: Gunshots to the head

The Citrus Heights resident was found shot to death in front of a home in Orangevale. An 18-year-old man was arrested in the killing and will likely face trial this year. On Ozee’s Facebook page, the young man listed his employment as, “Works at DrugDealin.”

Miguel Martinez

Age: 19

Died: 5/22/15

Cause of death: Gunshot to the chest

Martinez and his friends went to an area near Bannister Park in Fair Oaks to test a bulletproof vest. They wanted to duplicate a stunt seen on the internet of a person wearing a vest being shot. A friend shot Martinez and the young man was killed. The friend was charged in the death.

Albert Alexander

Age: 19

Died: 5/16/15

Cause of death: Multiple gunshot wounds

Alexander was seen talking to the occupants of a vehicle parked on a Rancho Cordova street. He was shot by someone inside the car. No arrests have been made.

Harley Bonacci

Age: 15

Died: 5/2/15

Cause of death: Gunshot to the head

Bonacci was riding in a car with friends in the Strawberry Manor neighborhood of north Sacramento after school. His family said the young men were listening to rap music by a north Sacramento artist that someone in the neighborhood didn’t like. Bonacci stuck his head out the car’s window to confront someone and was shot in the head. No arrests have been made.

Lamar McCants

Age: 18

Died: 4/20/15

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds

McCants walked into a relative’s home in Strawberry Manor and said he had been shot while standing outside. He died. Police described the shooting as gang-related, but a relative described McCants as “a good kid.”

Jose Rodriguez

Age: 19

Died: 3/22/15

Cause of death: Gunshot to the chest

Rodriguez was found shot to death on a Sunday evening on Southbreeze Drive, near Elk Grove Florin and Gerber roads. No arrests have been made in his case.

Shukeim Murray

Age: 18

Died: 2/8/15

Cause of death: Gunshot to the head

Murray arrived at a hospital with a gunshot wound and died a few minutes later. Police traced the shooting back to a Meadowview street. The day after Murray’s death, gunfire broke out at a vigil for the young man. One person was injured.

2014

Vincent Amaya

Age: 18

Died: 11/17/14

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the torso

Amaya was shot on 29th Street, a few blocks from Luther Burbank High School. Two teens were arrested in his killing and are scheduled to go on trial this year.

Garren Bookman

Age: 19

Died: 11/8/14

Cause of death: Gunshot wound to the back

Bookman was shot to death inside a North Highlands apartment complex. No one has been charged in his killing.

Daniel Rodriguez

Age: 19

Died: 9/19/14

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds to the chest

Rodriguez was found unconscious behind the wheel of a car that was struck by gunfire on Sayonara Drive in Citrus Heights. He later died at a hospital. Investigators said the fatal shots were fired from another vehicle, but they had few other leads.

Steven Crider

Age: 16

Died: 5/4/14

Cause of death: Shotgun wounds to the torso

Crider and Michael J. Sambrano, 14, were shot during an attempted burglary at a north Sacramento home. Police said the home’s resident acted in self-defense.

Michael Sambrano

Age: 14

Died: 5/4/14

Cause of death: Shotgun wound to the chest

Sambrano and Steven Crider, 16, were shot during the attempted burglary of a north Sacramento home. Police said the home’s resident acted in self-defense.

Cheaquis Jones

Age: 18

Died: 4/12/14

Cause of death: Multiple gunshot wounds

Jones was found a block away from a house party he was attending in Sacramento’s Lawrence Park neighborhood. He was killed by gunfire after a fight between the partygoers and unwelcome guests. Another teenaged boy was shot, but survived.

Nicole Duarte

Age: 19

Died: 3/17/14

Cause of death: Gunshot wound

Duarte was shot inside an apartment in Sacramento’s Pocket neighborhood. A teenage boy who was an acquaintance of Duarte’s was arrested and later sentenced to 21 years in prison.

2013

Brayan Castanon

Age: 15

Died: 12/28/13

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Castanon was with a group of friends on a Meadowview street on Christmas night. A shooting broke out. Three teens were hit, including Castanon, who died at the hospital three days later. Police said they were searching for a teen suspect, but have not made an arrest.

Juwan Howard

Age: 19

Died: 12/21/13

Cause of death: Gunshot to the arm

Howard was shot to death at the Fast Trip gas station on Florin Road in south Sacramento. Taejuan Jackson, 19, was arrested in the killing and sentenced to life in prison.

Darron Lee

Age: 15

Died: 12/13/13

Cause of death: Gunshot to the head

Lee was shot in the head during an assault on the 1900 block of Bandon Way in South Natomas and died two weeks later. Police released few details about his homicide and no arrests have been made in the case.

Wade Shingu

Age: 18

Died: 12/10/13

Cause of death: Stab wounds to the chest

Shingu was found stabbed in a car on the 7500 block of Auburn Boulevard in Citrus Heights.

Ricardo Guerrero

Age: 17

Died: 11/24/13

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the chest

Guerrero was shot outside a home on the 400 block of Second Street in Galt. Four suspects – including three teenagers – were arrested in his killing.

Javillion Ward

Age: 15

Died: 10/12/13

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the chest

The student at Gerber Jr./Sr. High School was shot to death during a fight between two large groups in the parking lot of a Raley’s on Mack Road in south Sacramento. School administrators and family said he was a committed student. Police said the brawl may have been related to gang activity.

Timothy Heu

Age: 17

Died: 8/28/13

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the neck

Heu was found shot on a Tuesday afternoon inside Pollock Ranch Park in Sacramento’s Meadowview neighborhood. No arrests have been made in his death.

Alvin Valentine

Age: 19

Died: 6/23/13

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Valentine, a Kennedy High School graduate, was riding in a car pulling up to a house party in Sacramento’s Valley Hi neighborhood. Gunshots erupted. Valentine was killed, and a 15-year-old girl, 17-year-old boy and 18-year-old man were injured. Two teens were arrested.

Lashawn Peters

Age: 19

Died: 6/15/13

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the head and neck

Gunshots rang out near Meadowview Park on a June night. But no one called police. The following morning, a jogger discovered Peters’ bloodied body laying face up in the grass, between a basketball court and a playground. No arrests have been made.

Devontae Bradford

Age: 17

Died: 5/3/13

Cause of death: Multiple gunshot wounds

No details are available about Bradford’s death.

Anthony Navarro

Age: 19

Died: 1/17/13

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the torso

Two teenagers that prosecutors said were gang members went on a crime spree, stealing a minivan and robbing three teens of their iPhones. The spree culminated when Navarro was shot on 39th Street in Oak Park eight times with a 9-mm semiautomatic handgun. The suspects were both convicted and sentenced to prison terms of nearly 40 years.

2012

Michael Burdan

Age: 19

Died: 11/20/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the chest

A Foothill High School graduate with a gentle nature, Burdan was shot while riding his bicycle in Del Paso Heights. He was delivering strawberries to his brother. Police haven’t made an arrest.

Dijon Smith

Age: 19

Died: 9/23/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the chest

Sacramento sheriff’s deputies had responded to a raucous house party in south Sacramento three times that night. The fourth time, they found Smith, dead on the sidewalk. No one has been arrested.

Maliek McClendon

Age: 17

Died: 8/27/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the abdomen

McClendon and his girlfriend were walking along Wright Street, near Fulton and Marconi avenues. Two men wearing hooded sweatshirts robbed them at gunpoint. The robbers took McClendon’s property, then shot him. McClendon died at a hospital 90 minutes later and his assailants have not been caught.

Angel Yanez

Age: 17

Died: 7/14/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the chest

A Sacramento sheriff’s detective said Yanez was walking on a North Highlands street doing “absolutely nothing” that would have prompted his shooting. He wasn’t in a gang. Detectives investigated a set of Norteno gang members in his shooting, but no arrests have been made.

Wesley Wheeler

Age: 18

Died: 7/10/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds to the back

Wheeler’s body was found in an alley near Del Paso Boulevard in North Sacramento. Authorities said Wheeler had been involved in an ongoing argument with the cousin of another man. That man – Winzer Hayden – was later convicted of first-degree murder in Wheeler’s death.

Ascencion Herrera

Age: 17

Died: 7/7/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the torso

Herrera was walking down Dixie Lou Street in Meadowview. Two Sacramento police officers stopped their patrol car to speak with him. Police said the officers saw a gun protruding from the teen’s shirt. Herrera and an officer both reached for the gun and began fighting. During the fight, the officer drew his weapon and fired multiple shots at Herrera, killing him.

Chou Vang

Age: 17

Died: 6/16/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the torso

Residents of Meadowview’s Detroit Boulevard reported hearing a shouting match after midnight before gunshots rang out. When police arrived, they found Vang, suffering a fatal gunshot wound. No one has been arrested in connection with his killing.

Joshua Baker

Age: 18

Died: 5/28/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

A large brawl broke out on Norcade Circle in Rosemont slightly before noon on a Monday. When sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found the wounded Baker and about 20 people standing nearby. Detectives think Baker fired a gun during the fight. Even with many witnesses, Baker’s assailant has not been arrested.

Joseph Oropesa

Age: 19

Died: 5/6/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Elk Grove police said that Oropesa had met up with someone outside the Dimple Records on Elk Grove Florin Road to buy OxyContin pills. The suspect – who later pleaded no contest – allegedly robbed Oropesa of $400, stole his car and shot him when the victim tried to thwart the carjacking.

Jacob Green

Age: 18

Died: 4/25/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the abdomen

Green went to a Foothill Farms home around 3 a.m. and got into an argument with two women and a man. Green advanced aggressively toward the man, who fired a single gunshot. Green got into a car and was driven away, but died at the hospital. The man who fired the shot was not charged; witnesses told investigators Green had made threats to the people inside the home.

Jorden Benedict

Age: 19

Died: 4/17/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the torso

Benedict was shot in Rancho Cordova, near the campus of W.E. Mitchell Middle School. A dark-colored vehicle was seen driving away from the area of the shooting, but police have not arrested a suspect in the homicide.

Jessica Funk-Haslam

Age: 13

Died: 3/6/12

Cause of death: Blunt-force head injury and stab wound

In a case that rocked the region, Funk-Haslam was found beaten, stabbed and asphyxiated inside the dugout of a baseball field at Rosemont Community Park. A massive manhunt ensued and her killer was arrested more than a year later. Ryan Douglas Roberts was eventually sentenced to 26 years to life in prison.

Tralane Thomas

Age: 19

Died: 1/30/12

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the chest

Investigators said Thomas sold marijuana to two men on Bicentennial Way, near Folsom Boulevard and Howe Avenue. The two men called Thomas a second time to buy more weed and, despite the worries of his girlfriend, Thomas agreed to meet the men again. A few minutes later, Thomas was robbed and shot. The gunman was sentenced to life in prison.

2011

Jose Galindo Sepulveda

Age: 17

Died: 11/2/11

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the torso

Sepulveda was shot near Southwest Avenue and Nina way in the Lemon Hill area of south Sacramento. He later died at UC Davis Medical Center and his killing remains unsolved.

Minor Leon

Age: 19

Died: 10/2/11

Cause of death: Stab wound of the torso

Leon was the only teenage homicide victim in Folsom over the past decade. Police said he was involved in a marijuana deal on East Bidwell Street with a transient when he was stabbed. His assailant, Joshua Atkins, later pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Montrey Hodge

Age: 17

Died: 8/18/11

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the torso

Hodge was shot to death on the front lawn of a North Highlands home by Twin Rivers Police Officer Taras Chernyy. Authorities said Chernyy shot Hodge after the teen tried to retrieve a gun that fell from his waistband during a chase.

Laki Lopa

Age: 19

Died: 7/30/11

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the left chest

Lopa was slain on North Avenue in Del Paso Heights after what police believe was a traffic disagreement. He was later named in court as a possible accomplice in the murder of a 50-year-old man in Del Paso Heights that occurred a year before his death.

Vladimir Korets

Age: 18

Died: 4/17/11

Cause of death: Stab wound of the neck

Korets and a friend confronted a group on Galbrath Drive in North Highlands and started fighting. Sheriff’s investigators later said Korets may have been the aggressor and that the 18-year-old man who stabbed him acted in self-defense.

Francisco Flores

Age: 19

Died: 4/14/11

Cause of death: Multiple gunshot wounds

Authorities said Flores had robbed a 19-year-old man in a South Natomas park, and that his murder was retaliation. Flores was shot and killed outside a store at Northgate Boulevard and San Juan Road. Two men were convicted in the killing. One was sentenced to 96 years to life, the other 91 years to life in prison.

Rashad Alexander

Age: 19

Died: 3/12/11

Cause of death: Multiple gunshot wounds

Alexander was gunned down outside the American Spirit bar on Northgate Boulevard in Gardenland. Prosecutors said the shooting was a result of ongoing tension between two street gangs. Three men were convicted in the killing.

Jamir Miller

Age: 15

Died: 2/13/11

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the head

Miller, his cousin and his sister’s fiancé were riding bicycles on Malaga Way in Rancho Cordova. A man armed with an AK-47 opened fire, killing all three. The man – gangmember Saul Isidro-Aucencio – had been beaten in his apartment earlier that day and went out seeking revenge. None of the three people he killed had any connection to the earlier assault. The shooter and the driver of his car both received multiple life sentences in prison.

Richard Ward

Age: 16

Died: 2/13/11

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the torso

Ward was riding his bicycle on Malaga Way in Rancho Cordova with his 15-year-old cousin, Jamir Miller, and another young man. A disgruntled gangmember who had been beaten in his apartment earlier in the day fired on the group with an AK-47, killing all three. None of the three victims had been involved in the earlier assault. The shooter and the driver of his car both received multiple life sentences in prison.

2010

Elijah Cook

Age: 15

Died: 12/31/10

Cause of death: Shotgun wound of the head

Two brothers were charged with shooting Cook on 29th Street in Meadowview. Authorities said the shooting was retaliation for a beating suffered by the older brother while he was working his cashier’s job at a neighborhood Walgreens.

Tiekarian Troutman

Age: 18

Died: 12/27/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the neck

Troutman and Marquis Greenwood, 19, were robbing the Deluxe Grocery Store in the Alkali Flat neighborhood of downtown Sacramento. The owner chased the two out with a bottle. Greenwood tried to shoot the owner, but killed his partner instead. Greenwood was sentenced to life in prison.

Jesse Jones

Age: 15

Died: 11/27/10

Cause of death: Shotgun wound of the pelvis

The son of a reformed former gangmember, Jones was gunned down behind his high school campus for wearing the wrong color in the wrong gang’s territory. Sheriff’s detectives said Jones and his 15-year-old girlfriend were walking home at 2 a.m. when they were approached by a car behind Encina High School. A young man got out and shot Jones. Luis Prudente was later sentenced to life in prison.

Vern Cheo Saeteurn

Age: 19

Died: 11/8/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the abdomen

Saeteurn was shot and killed by his father, along with his brother and mother. Kouei Wang Saeteurn, 53, was initially found mentally incompetent to stand trial in the murders, but was found competent five years later and convicted of the crimes. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Jimmy Le

Age: 16

Died: 10/19/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Le was a peace activist at Hiram Johnson High School in Sacramento, where he handed out badges reading “don’t fight, let’s unite.” He was leaving a party for his cousins - Marines on leave from fighting overseas – when a light-colored car drove by and sprayed the front of the house with bullets. Le died two days later and no one has been arrested.

Christopher Xiong

Age: 19

Died: 9/1/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Xiong was found shot to death next to the old Honda he and his brother fixed up. The shooting took place in front of his family home on 52nd Avenue in Sacramento’s Glen Elder neighborhood. Police have not made an arrest.

Lanajah Dupree

Age: 14

Died: 7/11/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the chest

Dupree was one of the youngest shooting victims in Sacramento over the past decade. She was at a party marketed to an under-21 crowd at an Auburn Boulevard strip mall. A fight broke out between rival gangs. One of the gang members fired a gun into the crowd, killing Dupree. The shooter, Jaivonne Flenory-Davis, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

D’Andre Blackwell

Age: 18

Died: 6/5/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the back

Blackwell was shot at a high school graduation party at a Holiday Inn Express in Elk Grove. Blackwell, a former Valley High School basketball player, was not in a gang. But he was with two friends who were when the group began arguing with another group of young men in a stairwell of the hotel. Al Allen was later convicted of first-degree murder in Blackwell’s shooting and sentenced to 112 years to life in state prison.

Jazzmyne Bruner

Age: 18

Died: 4/12/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the neck

All detectives could determine after Bruner and her boyfriend were fatally shot was that they were targeted. But they couldn’t say why, saying they had received several tips, including one that raised the possibility that the young couple were killed in a road rage incident. The couple was shot as they drove along Howe Avenue, their car crashing into a fence at the corner of Howe and Bluebird Lane. No one has been arrested in the case.

Joe Tyes

Age: 19

Died: 3/28/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Tyes had a troubled past – sheriff’s investigators said he was a known gang member and he had been convicted in 2009 of fleeing a police officer. At 4 a.m. on a Sunday, patrons of Country Club Lanes on Watt Avenue heard gunshots, went outside and found Tyes in the parking lot. Dozens of shell casings were on the ground. Detectives said no witnesses came forward in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. Tyes’ homicide remains unsolved.

Christopher Valdes

Age: 19

Died: 3/20/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the head

“Our children are in danger. Tomorrow, it could be your son or daughter.” Those were the words of Claudia Barrientos, Valdes’ mother, three days after her son was shot and killed at a party inside a barn in rural Wilton. Valdes and his friend, 18-year-old Marlon Aguilar Morales, were at the party attended by 50 to 60 friends. As the party broke up around 1:30 a.m., a group of uninvited guests showed up. They grew angry when they were asked to leave and a fight broke out. Gunshots rang out, and both Valdes and Morales died at the scene. Despite an $8,250 reward offered by the victims’ families, no one has been arrested.

Marlon Aguilar Morales

Age: 18

Died: 3/20/10

Cause of death: Multiple gunshot wounds

Morales and his friend, Christopher Valdes, 19, were killed attending the kind of party teens around the country attend every weekend. The friends were gunned down at a party hosted by a friend inside a barn in rural Wilton. About 50 to 60 friends had gathered at the party when, at around 1:30 a.m., a group of uninvited guests showed up. Words were exchanged and a fight broke out when the late arrivals were told to leave. A gun went off. Morales and Valdes died at the scene and there have been no arrests.

Marque Johnson

Age: 17

Died: 3/17/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the chest

Eric’s Donuts in south Sacramento was the setting for an annual gang vigil dubbed “Jack Day,” held to remember 18-year-old Jack Lawrence who was shot and killed in 2006. After the 2010 vigil, a group of gangsters from Starz Up confronted rivals outside a nearby Taco Bell. Johnson – who was not a gang member – was there, too. And two days later, the Starz Up members saw Johnson walking to school at 7 a.m. Johnson was shot dead in the street. Robert Hunt was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Yanet Cuevas

Age: 17

Died: 3/13/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the chest

Residents of quiet Thurman Way in the Lemon Hill neighborhood called police after hearing gunshots. And when deputies arrived, they found three bodies. Cuevas and her 23-year-old boyfriend, Raul Velasquez, both had suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Manuel Esquivel, 22, described as Cuevas’ ex-boyfriend, was found nearby, dead from a single gunshot wound to the head. The apparent murder suicide was sparked by a love triangle.

Rebecca Layson

Age: 17

Died: 2/12/10

Cause of death: Blunt force injuries of the head

Layson joined a group of friends in Citrus Heights’ Van Maren Park on a February night. Most of the group eventually left, except for Layson, her boyfriend and an 18-year-old man named Anton Adolf Johnson. When Layson’s boyfriend drank so much alcohol he became incapacitated, Johnson raped, tortured and killed the young woman, authorities said. Layson’s body was later discovered by police in a heavily-wooded area of the park and Johnson was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.

Marcus Thompson

Age: 18

Died: 1/14/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the abdomen

A sheriff’s homicide detective said Thompson and 29-year-old Eleea Langley “were just two people who appeared to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.” That wrong place was the Villa Capri apartment complex in Arden Arcade, where the men were hit by a spray of bullets fired during a confrontation between residents of the apartment building. Thompson was a popular, athletic teen. Two men from Stockton were later convicted.

Aliyah Smith

Age: 15

Died: 1/3/10

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Smith was a tough kid from River City High School in West Sacramento, but she was also a bright kid who wrote poetry and wanted to be a dancer. She was at a house party in south Sacramento when she got into a fight with another girl. Smith then sought shelter in a friend’s apartment on notorious Nedra Court in Meadowview. Her rivals followed and fired a gunshot into the air. Smith looked outside a window and caught a bullet in the head, killing her. The shooter was convicted and sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.

2009

Perell Waters

Age: 19

Died: 12/15/09

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the abdomen

Waters and a friend were leaving the parking lot of the Woodbridge apartment complex on San Juan Road in South Natomas when three men walked up to their car and fired a gun. Waters died at an area hospital, but his friend survived. Police later said the shooting stemmed from an ongoing gang dispute and arrested three men, including a 19-year-old man.

Francisco Medina-Tomas

Age: 16

Died: 11/21/09

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the back

Sheriff’s detectives said Medina-Tomas was a known member of the Varrio Gardens subset of the Norteno street gang. His shooter – later convicted of first-degree murder – was a member of the rival Sureno gang, investigators said. And that led to Medina-Tomas’ death at the age of 16, gunned down while he waited for a friend in the Bowling Green Village apartment complex on 49th Avenue in south Sacramento.

Joshua Trahan-Mays

Age: 17

Died: 10/10/09

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the chest

Trahan-Mays and a woman were apparently involved in buying marijuana from a 40-year-old man in Foothill Farms. At some point, authorities said, the deal went sideways and Trahan-Mays and the older man engaged in a brief gun battle inside the man’s car. The teen was later found dead on the sidewalk. The shooter later pleaded no contest to a gun charge and was sentenced to four years in prison.

William Virdee

Age: 18

Died: 9/27/09

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

A house party. Dozens of witnesses. A shooting. And no arrest. It’s a familiar thread among teen homicides, and it’s one that describes Virdee’s death. The Rio Linda High School graduate was driving away from a party on Eighth Avenue in Rio Linda when he was shot. Detectives said a “significant number” of people were in the street when his assailants opened fire, but few were willing or able to provide details. Despite a $12,000 reward, no one has been arrested in the homicide.

Gerardo Briseno

Age: 19

Died: 9/10/09

Cause of death: Shotgun wound of the head

Briseno bought a shotgun. He and his friend, Hector Quintero, began joking around with the weapon, racking it and pretending to shoot each other. Quintero pulled the trigger, not knowing the shotgun was loaded, and blew a hole through the right side of his pal’s nose. “It was an accident,” Quintero told another friend, according to a probation report. “I just shot the fool.” Quintero later got four years in state prison for involuntary manslaughter.

Cody Marston

Age: 18

Died: 8/31/09

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the neck

Marston and 24-year-old Christopher Williams were found shot to death inside a Fulton Avenue apartment complex shortly after 1 in the morning. Another man, 23, was shot, but was expected to survive. Detectives said the shooting likely stemmed from a lover’s triangle.

Isaac-Michael Bartkovsky

Age: 19

Died: 7/15/09

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the chest

Bartkovsky was found shot to death inside an apartment on the 4600 block of Orange Grove Avenue, not far from American River College. Anthony William Race was later arrested and sentenced to 21 years in state prison.

Ronald Kenoly

Age: 14

Died: 6/14/09

Cause of death: Acute asthma immediately following a fight

Kenoly was found on the front lawn of a home on Heritage Hill Drive in Elk Grove shortly after midnight. Witnesses told police Kenoly had been walking home from a party when he was approached by two suspects and got into a fight. He collapsed and later died at a hospital. Two juveniles were later arrested by police, but it is unclear whether the boys were convicted in Kenoly’s death.

2008

Gustavo Lopez

Age: 18

Died: 10/31/08

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the back

Lopez was riding in a van with at least two other people on Lerwick Road, near Edison and Fulton avenues. The van stopped and the occupants traded words with three pedestrians. According to detectives, one of the pedestrians pulled a gun and shot into the van, striking Lopez and a 19-year-old man, who survived the shooting. Joseph Buttelo was later convicted and sentenced to 23 years and four months in prison.

Colin Reid

Age: 18

Died: 10/31/08

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Like many young people in these stories, Reid had lost his way. But then his path changed, and he rededicated himself to his school work and his family. He was on track to graduate from high school and was just five days past his 18th birthday when he was shot to death on the rain-soaked pavement outside a North Sacramento apartment complex. Police said there were plenty of witnesses, but none came forward, despite a $50,000 reward offer from the governor’s office.

Emanuel Michel

Age: 18

Died: 10/18/08

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

“A tragic event.” That’s how Sacramento police described Michel’s murder. He was at a house party on 57th Avenue in South Sacramento when a group of uninvited guests showed up. The group was asked to leave and responded by firing gunshots into the home, shouting gang slang as they left. But police do not think Michel was in a gang. A reward of $55,000 is offered in the unsolved killing.

Jamal Ellison

Age: 19

Died: 9/9/08

Cause of death: Shotgun wound of the chest

Ellison was with a group that police said was trying to force its way into a Del Paso Heights home when the home’s occupant fired a shotgun through an opening in the front door. Ellison was struck and collapsed. His accomplices took off. Police said the homeowner – who was home with his pregnant wife and two young children – would not face charges.

Robert Haynes

Age: 16

Died: 8/22/08

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the head

Two warring gang sets met at a Meadowview house party, and Haynes – projected to start that fall on the Sacramento Charter High School football team – fell victim to the dispute. A 15-year-old sophomore from Foothill High School named Marvel Barksdale was charged with firing the fatal shot. He was eventually sentenced to 14 years in state prison.

Kevin Marshall

Age: 17

Died: 8/21/08

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the torso

A dirty look. And a dead teenager in the street. A father and son were convicted in Marshall’s shooting death, with prosecutors saying the boy was shot three times in the back. Authorities said the shooting stemmed from a dirty look shot in Marshall’s direction that sparked a fight.

Marcus Mayes

Age: 18

Died: 5/28/08

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the chest

Mayes and a friend were walking down Viking Drive in Rancho Cordova. Two men in a car rode by. The car turned and Victor Ortega got out. He and Mayes fought before Ortega pulled out a gun and shot the young man dead, authorities said. Ortega was later convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Isidro Rivas

Age: 18

Died: 1/12/08

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the back

When Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd G. Connelly sentenced Rivas’ killers to long sentences, he used the moment to rail against the city’s gang problems. “I’ve tried so many of these gang killings,” he said. “They are always so stupid. The community is angry about it, and I’m angry about it.” Rivas was killed, along with a 22-year-old man, during a shootout on 73rd Street in South Sacramento.

2007

Aaron Crisp

Age: 15

Died: 10/31/07

Cause of death: Multiple shotgun wounds

Crisp and his 48-year-old father were found shot to death inside their North Highlands home. They were found in separate parts of the home. Police said they didn’t find a weapon and there were no signs that the assailants forced their way into the home. There were also no arrests made in the case.

Noah Seamster

Age: 18

Died: 9/3/07

Cause of death: Shotgun wound of the head

There was no media coverage of Seamster’s death. His obituary in The Sacramento Bee said he was survived by his parents, three sisters, one brother, five nieces and a nephew.

Abel Alonso

Age: 15

Died: 6/8/07

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Alonso and his 18-year-old brother were driving to school when an alleged member of the Norteno street gang high on Ecstasy mistook the pair for members of a rival gang. He fired a .38 revolver into the car, hitting Alonso in the back of the head. Alonso, a student at the military-oriented Genesis Charter High School, died later at the hospital. His killer, Steven Duran, received life in prison.

Joseph Gomez

Age: 18

Died: 5/9/07

Cause of death: Shotgun pellet injuries of the torso

“Being a young kid living in North Highlands, you can have enemies just being you,” Gomez’s aunt said the day after he was killed. Gomez, who sheriff’s detectives said was a gang member, was gunned down in front of his aunt’s home at Gilman Way and David Drive. He was rushed to a hospital by friends, but died soon after. No arrests have been made.

Joshua Grosshans

Age: 19

Died: 4/23/07

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Grosshans was shot by a private security guard near the Sacramento State campus after police said he and two others tried to break into a car. Police said the suspects drove at the security guard and that the guard acted in self-defense when he shot Grosshans.

Charles Robinson

Age: 19

Died: 4/2/07

Cause of death: Multiple gunshot wounds

Robinson was killed by a suspect wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt as he was sitting in a car on Dixieanne Avenue, a tough side street in North Sacramento. Family members later described Robinson as a craps shooter who got into regular beefs with the Trigga Mob street gang. No arrests have been made.

Jelisa Office

Age: 16

Died: 3/23/07

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

At the age of 16, Jarrell Tyes told investigators he considered the Oak Park Bloods gang his “family,” according to his probation report. He would be sent away to state prison for 25 years to life in Office’s death, a murder that rocked the city for its randomness. Office, a straight-A student at Rio Linda High School, was in front of a house party in Del Paso Heights when Tyes sprayed the house with a .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun. Tyes thought his younger brother had been hassled at the party and told police he fired the shots “as a scare tactic.”

Dominique Hickman

Age: 17

Died: 2/23/07

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the back

A woman looked out her window and saw Hickman’s body, dead on her front lawn. He had likely been shot the night before while walking near Vineyard Road in unincorporated south Sacramento County. He didn’t live in the area. A 16-year-old boy was later arrested in Hickman’s murder and convicted of 25 years to life in prison.

Jonathan Giurbino

Age: 19

Died: 2/15/07

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the head

Giurbino was found shot to death on a Thursday morning in the middle of Fordham Way, a quiet side street in South Land Park. Police said a drug deal had brought him there and that the other party in the deal shot him. That other person, an 18-year-old man from Elk Grove named Jonathan Hampton, was later sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

Damien King

Age: 17

Died: 2/6/07

Cause of death: Gunshot wounds of the torso

King was found dead in the middle of San Juan Road in South Natomas. A teen with a troubled past, King’s family and friends said he had recently turned his life around and was pulling good grades at Elinor Lincoln Hickey Junior/Senior High School. His father had been murdered 11 years earlier. There have been no arrests in the younger Kings’ killing.

Lamar Gasaway

Age: 17

Died: 1/17/07

Cause of death: Gunshot wound of the chest

Gasaway ran into 14-year-old Jamel Stevens inside a convenience store on Florin Road. They started fighting over their gang affiliations, and Gasaway began punching Stevens in the face, police said. But then Stevens pulled out a gun and shot the older teen, killing Gasaway as he tried to run away. Stevens was later convicted of 25 years to life in prison.

Favian Reyes

Age: 18

Died: 1/5/07

Cause of death: Shotgun wound of the head

Reyes and three other young men were riding in a car on Watt Avenue, near Northrup, when Reyes and the driver of another vehicle exchanged tough looks, sheriff’s investigators said. Someone in the other car fired, striking Reyes. A passenger in Reyes’ car steered the vehicle into a gas station parking lot and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. No arrests have been made.

Kelly Johnson

Age: 19

Died: 1/2/07

Cause of death: Blunt force head injuries

Johnson and her mother were beaten to death by a man authorities said was Johnson’s ex-boyfriend. Jose Barrera was later sentenced to life in prison. Investigators said they found Johnson and her mother in a bedroom of a house on 53rd Avenue after Barrera had called 911. A 7-month-old boy and 4-year-old girl were found unharmed in the home.

Our teens are murdered at a staggering rate. Why can’t we keep them safe? Violence has claimed the lives of 114 teens in Sacramento since 2007, with a higher murder rate than state and national averages for this age group. Nearly all were killed by guns, about 40 percent are unsolved, and all leave families desperately clinging to memories of lost children and dreams of what lives they may have led.
Teen homicides – the guns fire and the killers vanish The murder rate among Sacramento teens since 2007 was much higher than the federal rate and young people here were twice as likely to die of homicide as those in any other age group.

This story was originally published June 19, 2017 at 5:53 PM with the headline "In 10 years, 114 Sacramento teenagers died violently. Here are all of them."