Editor’s note: All people named are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Two Cloverdale residents were arrested following a Santa Rosa homicide on April 4. Raul Rafael Cardenas-Valencia, 23, of Cloverdale, and Jesse Villavicencio, 19, also of Cloverdale, were arrested in association with the homicide. Cardenas-Valencia was arrested for violation of probation and Villavicencio was arrested for violation of probation and aiding a principal to avoid prosecution or punishment.
On April 8, the Santa Rosa Police Department announced that it had arrested Bryan David Martinez-Gonzalez, 20, of Santa Rosa, as the primary homicide suspect. Martinez-Gonzalez was charged with homicide, related to the fatal shooting death of Sergio Santana on Lazzini Avenue in Santa Rosa.
“This case is being investigated as a possible gang crime, but the investigation is still ongoing. The motives and actions leading up to the shooting are also still being investigated,” stated the press release from the Santa Rosa Police Department.
A third person, Julio Cesar Gonzalez, 26, of Santa Rosa was also arrested in association with the homicide for aiding a principal to avoid prosecution or punishment and destroying/concealing evidence.
“On Sunday, April 4, 2021, at around 4:50 a.m. in the morning, the Santa Rosa Police Department received a call from a resident in the 1900 block of Lazzini Avenue. The resident said that he was having a party, and there were several people that had attended. He said that one of the individuals had been shot and had possibly died.
“Santa Rosa Police Officers responded to the apartment. When they arrived, they located a deceased male victim who had been shot at least one time. Detectives from the Violent Crimes Investigations Team have since taken over the investigation,” stated the initial press release from Santa Rosa police.
