KING CITY, Calif. – A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty in a Salinas court to two counts of murder, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
Eliazar Arellano Ayron pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder while personally using a firearm for the benefit of the Sureno gang, prosecutors said.
On Dec. 26, 2021, Ayron, a Sureno criminal street gang member from King City, drove to Sussex Way in King City where he and three others ambushed the victims as they exited their vehicle in front of their house. The victims were shot numerous times and killed.
King City street cameras captured the license plate of the vehicle involved in the murders. A search warrant was served at the Salinas residence associated with the vehicle and one of the firearms used in the murders was located.
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Salinas-based ‘Murder Squad’ members sentenced in 3-year killing spree
Five members of the self-proclaimed “Murder Squad” crew were sentenced to a combined total of 161 years in prison for their parts in dozens of shootings, both fatal and nonfatal, racketeering, and other convictions in Salinas, over the course of three years, the Department of Justice reported.
According to prosecutors, Ayron fled the jurisdiction after the murders, but a task force assembled and successfully apprehended him nine months later in a rural and remote area in Groveland, an unincorporated town in Tuolumne County.
The other Sureno gang members included Raul Lucas, who in 2022 was sentenced to 58 years to life in the same case, prosecutors said.
Ayron is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 4, where he is expected to receive 70 years to life in state prison.
Ayron’s conviction is considered two strikes under California’s Three Strikes Laws.