Dead man found in Coalinga had criminal past, sheriff’s deputies say

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office said the man found shot to death in Coalinga Tuesday evening was a Southern California resident with a history of criminal activity.

Spokesman Tony Botti said the victim was Hector Steven Lemus, 37, of Santa Clarita. He was found dead around 6:45 p.m. by California Highway Patrol officers responded to calls about an injured man near the intersection of Highway 198 and Highway 33. The CHP notified sheriff’s homicide detectives.

Sheriff’s deputies and crime-scene technicians arrived at the scene around 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, Botti said detectives have learned that Lemus was last seen alive at MacArthur Park in Los Angeles around noon Tuesday. The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call detective Donna Davis at (559) 600-8207 or CrimeStoppers at (559) 498-STOP.

This is the sixth homicide committed in the sheriff’s Fresno County jurisdiction this year.

This story was originally published July 22, 2015 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Dead man found in Coalinga had criminal past, sheriff’s deputies say."