21-year-old Sacramento man accused of fatally shooting Merced County security guard

Jonathan AyestasLOS BANOS, Calif. —

A 21-year-old Sacramento man is accused of shooting and killing a security guard in the Central Valley, officials said Wednesday.

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Gabriel Angel Salas turned himself in to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and was booked on a murder charge, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office said.

Shortly after 11:10 p.m. Saturday, the sheriff’s office said deputies went to a private event at the Los Banos fairgrounds after getting a report of a shooting. There, they found a security guard they identified as Kody Pena, deceased at the scene.

Throughout the investigation and working with the West Sacramento Police Department and Yolo Regional SWAT, the sheriff’s office said it identified Salas as the suspected gunman and learned that he fled to the West Sacramento area.

Salas on Wednesday morning turned himself in to authorities, and the sheriff’s office said it plans on extraditing Salas to Merced County.

Details were not released on what prompted the shooting and whether Salas and Pena knew each other.

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