Police Arrest 3 Known Gang Members for Attempted Homicide of Officers
Suspects fired toward Police Officers
SALINAS—Authorities with the Salinas Police Department arrested all three suspects in an early morning pursuit that led to a crash at Natividad Creek Park in the Northwest part of Salinas. Arrested were 25-year-old Daniel Sanchez, 27-year-old Daniel Magdelen and 27-year-old Alexander Padilla. All three are known gang members from Salinas.
Daniel Magdalen
The incident occurred on April 23, shortly after midnight, when a Salinas police officer attempted to stop a vehicle on Airport Boulevard and the vehicle sped away from the officer. An occupant of the vehicle fired a handgun several times at the pursuing officer.
“The officer was shot at several times but was not injured in this incident,” Officer Cabrera of the Salinas Police Department said. “The officer did not have the opportunity to fire back.”
The chase ended as the vehicle crashed into a tree near Natividad Creek Park at the Northwest end of the city. Two suspects fled the scene on foot – Sanchez, who was caught a short distance away from the vehicle and Magdalen, who fled into the creek and hid in the deep brush.
Daniel Sanchez
“The search lasted for several hours as the brush that Magdalen was hiding in was very thick,” Officer Cabrera added. “A K-9 Unit was able to alert officers where he was hiding.”
Authorities subsequently captured Magdalen after an extensive search that involved the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department, the California Highway Patrol and the Salinas Police Department’s SWAT team. Authorities searched the vehicle and found two weapons in the vehicle,
The third suspect was able to elude police that night, but on Thursday April 25, the Salinas Police Department Investigations Unit, the Violence Suppression Unit and the department’s SWAT team caught up with Padilla in a house on California Avenue,
He was taken into custody without incident for his part in the April 23 pursuit and attempted homicide of a Salinas police officer. Padilla was charged with attempted willful deliberate premeditated murder and street terrorism with gang enhancement. The other two suspects that were arrested that night will be facing the same charges.
“These three suspect are known gang members and we are happy to get them all in custody,” Officer Cabrera added.
The Salinas Police Department is still actively investigating this incident and is asking anyone with information that may aid in their investigation to call the police department at 831-758-7321.
Read More:
KSBW: Salinas Police Arrest 3rd Man Suspected of Shooting at Officer
Monterey Herald: Third Suspect in Salinas Shooting arrested
