It was Fresno’s 38th homicide of 2021. How police found suspect in Campus Pointe slaying
A dispute between two groups led to the fatal shooting of Frank Sierras at Fresno’s Campus Pointe entertainment center, with police identifying the person they believe was responsible within hours of the incident.
And by the next day, they had the man, a teenager, in custody.
Fresno police on Friday announced the arrest of Ricardo Resendez, 18, of Parlier. He actually had been taken into custody Wednesday for what is the city’s 38th homicide of 2021. Police did not say why they waited two days to announce Resendez’s apprehension.
Resendez was booked into Fresno County Jail on a murder charge in connection with the early Tuesday shooting death of Sierras and on suspicion of attempted murder of a passenger in Sierras’ car.
“We are able to retrieve a number of different avenues of investigation, basically video, witness and as well as we had a number of people out there,” Fresno police Captain Mindy Casto said. “Detectives responded to the scene and were able to piece together some information who they thought the suspect was and eventually tracked him down to Parlier, where he was taken into custody.”
Casto said Resendez was arrested at a Parlier home. It was unclear whether the home was his or belongs to a relative.
Sierras was found just after midnight Tuesday, police said, shot in his car after it crashed into a parking structure of the Palazzo at Campus Pointe student housing complex. Sierras was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger, his girlfriend, was not injured either in the shooting or the crash.
Investigators determined that a brief argument occurred inside Maya Cinemas, the theater at Campus Pointe, between the girlfriend and a group of three or more people. The altercation carried into the parking lot of the center — popular for the cinema as well as its restaurants and bars — where more words were exchanged, Casto said.
As Sierras was driving through the lot, he encountered the group again and was fatally shot. He managed to drive away, but crashed at the nearby housing complex.
“There is some gang involvement on both sides of the dispute,” Casto said. “We don’t know how much of a factor that played into the situation. It was an argument (among) two different groups.”
There is no indication Sierras and Resendez had met previously, Casto said, and police for now are not looking for additional suspects.
Anyone with information about the case can remain anonymous by contacting Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867; homicide Det. Raul Diaz at 559-621-2449; or Det. Eden Cerda at 559-621-2446.
