Salinas Police: One in Custody after Labor Day Shooting, Second Suspect Still at Large
Jairo Zamoro booking photo
SALINAS — One man is in custody and police are on the hunt for another following a Labor Day shooting in the 1600 block of El Dorado Drive.
An anonymous report provided a detailed description of a suspicious vehicle connected to a drive-by shooting at 6:28 PM. One responding officer spotted the vehicle, a Nissan Titan pickup, heading towards East Salinas.
The officer gave chase at a high rate of speed all the way to the 700 block of Elkington Avenue, where the passenger jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the rear entrance of an apartment complex on Elkington.
While the pursuit split in two directions, officers giving chase on foot on Elkington while other officers pursued the vehicle, things back at the scene of the shooting were getting out of hand.
A growing group of bystanders was becoming increasingly hostile, to the point where officers called upon the assistance of K-9 units in training to assist in the chase. Watsonville Police also responded to the scene of the shooting to assist with crowd control.
The vehicle pursuit continued to Constitution Boulevard and Manchester Circle, where officers finally decided to utilize the PIT maneuver to disable the vehicle. The driver, 29-year-old Jairo Zamoro, was quickly apprehended.
Back at the apartment complex, a yard-to-yard search was conducted of the surrounding area. Unfortunately, officers were only able to recover the gun used in the shooting — a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun on the roof of the apartment complex.
Salinas Police Commander John Murray extended his thanks to the public for providing information that led to the driver’s arrest, and praised both police departments for their smooth and efficient collaboration in the midst of an extremely risky situation.
Zamoro has been booked into Monterey County Jail on charges of attempted murder, resisting arrest, and DUI, along with other charges relating to the pursuit.
