Gov. Gavin Newsom offers $50,000 reward for info on an unsolved Fresno homicide

Sarah Roberts was shot and killed while waiting for a ride home from a party on New Year’s Eve in 2011.

It was the first homicide in Fresno in 2012 and not at all an easy case to solve.

On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $50,000 is being offered as a reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. It is one of two rewards being offered by the governor. The other, also $50,000, is being offered for information on the killing of a 20-year-old man in Sacramento in 2015.

Fresno police at the time believed Roberts, a 26-year-old mother of two, was not the intended target of the shooting and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And because the shooting happened around midnight, dozens or even hundreds of gunshots rang out as people celebrated the New Year, making it hard to sort the sound of the fatal shots from the other gunfire.

After two months, police had few in the case. Eight years later, the homicide remains unsolved.

According to the governor’s office, the rewards are part of a program established by the California Legislature and are based on an arrest and conviction of perpetrators. The governor may issue the reward only upon a recommendation of law enforcement officials.

This is not a Valley Crime Stoppers reward and information should be not be made through its anonymous tip line.

Anyone with information on the Roberts case should contact the call Lt. Mark Hudson with the Fresno Police Department at 559 621-2751.

This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Gov. Gavin Newsom offers $50,000 reward for info on an unsolved Fresno homicide."