Elderly man found shot to death in Fresno County. Homicide detectives on scene

UPDATE: The victim was identified Tuesday by the Fresno County Coroner’s Office as Merced Sanchez, 82, of Raisin City.

“Detectives continue to need the public’s help to identify the person(s) responsible for shooting Sanchez,” the sheriff’s department said in a news release.

Anyone with information can contact Detective Richard Antunez at 559-600-8221 or Valley Crime Stoppers 559-498-7867.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of an 84-year-old man discovered near his home in a community southwest of Fresno on Monday morning.

Deputies found the victim around 5:30 a.m. in an area near West Young and South Ormus avenues in Raisin City. He was outside of his vehicle and on his property, and had been shot in the upper body, the sheriff’s office said.

“Deputies spoke with a family member of the victim who said he was outside checking on his property when they heard gunshots,” sheriff’s office spokesman Tony Botti said.

Homicide detectives have not determined a motive for the crime and are working to identify suspects.

It was the 17th homicide in Fresno County in 2020 — eight of those homicides originated in other cities and the sheriff’s office took over investigations at the request of those agencies, Botti said.

In 2019, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office investigated a total of 18 homicides.

Information on possible suspects or motives have not been released.

This story was originally published October 12, 2020 at 10:25 AM.