He’d get angry and shoot cars and houses, police say. Now he’s behind bars

A Fresno man is responsible for firing randomly at houses and cars in central Fresno because he was angry with his family or his personal situation, police say.

Police Chief Jerry Dyer identified the man as Raul Solano Yanez, 21, a gang member currently in custody in Fresno County Jail. Five shooting incidents started Nov. 6 and continued until Dec. 13, when he was arrested.

No one was injured in the gunfire, but vehicles and houses were struck by bullets fired from a semi-automatic pistol as Yanez drove his pickup truck through an area near First Street and Belmont Avenue. Police were alerted to three of the shootings by the department’s ShotSpotter gunfire tracking system.

During this week’s Crime View session with reporters, Dyer outlined how police were able to find Yanez. Dyer said Yanez was arrested in the last shooting after officers pulled over his white truck as they investigated a shots-fired call and found shell casings in the cab and bed of the pickup. They later recovered the pistol hidden next to a battery in the truck’s engine bay at Yanez’s home in the 700 block of North Fisher Street.

Dyer said Yanez confessed to the shootings and commited them “simply because he was angry.” He would “drive away and start shooting.”

Police recovered a second firearm during a warrant search.

This story was originally published January 11, 2018 at 12:56 PM with the headline "He’d get angry and shoot cars and houses, police say. Now he’s behind bars."