South Natomas park killing was fourth homicide of a homeless person in Sacramento in 2021
The man who was killed in a South Natomas park Thursday has been identified as Richard Davidson, who was homeless.
Sacramento police responded to Northgate Park on Mendel Way shortly after 10 p.m. to reports of a physical altercation involving “several subjects,” according to a police news release. When they arrived, they found Davidson with life-threatening injuries. He died at the scene.
The next day, police arrested Raul Jimenez, 25, on homicide charges.
It was the fourth time a homeless person was killed in the city of Sacramento this year, according to coroner data, and the second one at a city park.
▪ In April, Kathy Lynn Robbins, 64, was found dead along the American River bike trail, with visible injuries possibly from an assault, police said.
▪ In June, Daniel “Flaco” Byrn, 31, was fatally shot in the parking lot of Tahoe Park, near 59th Street and 11th Avenue. Several days later, a notice was taped to a tree in the park offering a reward for anyone who gives police information about the killing.
About a dozen colorful candles sat at the base of the tree, leftover from a candlelight vigil Byrn’s family and friends had held there.
▪ In August, a 43-year-old man died from a gunshot wound along the Sacramento River bike trail, near 100 Capitol Ave. The coroner has not yet released his identity.
Police have not made arrests in those three homicides.
Last year, seven homeless people were the victims of homicide, and a total of 137 homeless people died from all causes in Sacramento County. So far this year, about 100 homeless people have died.
On Thursday, when Davidson was killed, two other homeless people died in Sacramento County, according to coroner data. Larry Estrada, 61, was found dead in the parking lot of an Arden-Arcade strip mall. Mark Roeding, 65, died at a hospital.
