Fresno man found dead in grocery store parking lot, police say. They’ve made an arrest
Police on Thursday accused a 48-year-old woman of being involved in the killing of a man found dead in a northwest Fresno parking lot.
Police said Alejandra Munoz took part in killing of 70-year-old Richard Martin, who was shot inside an SUV on May 17 in the FreshCo Food Center parking lot on Shields and Brawley avenues but was not discovered until the next day.
Munoz has been arrested, police said Thursday in a news release.
Lt. Paul Cervantes said officers do not believe Munoz fired the weapon that killed Martin but she was involved with others, including at least one man who police did not identify on Thursday.
Munoz was booked into the Fresno County jail on Wednesday on suspicion of murder, according to online jail records.
Cervantes said Munoz did not know Martin but came into contact with him in what ended in the shooting. He said he could not be more specific because the investigation is ongoing and at least one person remains at large.
“There are still more individuals who are outstanding,” he said. “The murder weapon in this particular case is still outstanding, and to that end we’re still conducting follow-up to determine the identity of the person responsible for the shooting itself.”
He also cited the ongoing investigation as a reason for not discussing a potential motive.
Martin was found gunned down on May 18 by a grocery store employee, police said. Officers conducted interviews and watched surveillance video from nearby stores and homes to identify Munoz, police said.
Someone fired multiple shots into the SUV and through the glass, striking Martin multiple times in the upper body, police have said.
As an employee walked to her car in the morning, she could see broken glass in the car riddled with bullets, police said.
Video surveillance shows Martin had been in the grocery store on May 17, police said. Employees noticed the car when they left for the night and again when they arrived May 18.
There was no ShotSpotter activation, police said.
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This story was originally published July 7, 2022 at 10:17 AM.
