No charges have been filed since the arrest in the fatal shooting in Hanford

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) — No charges have been filed after the 19-year-old suspect in a fatal Hanford shooting was released from prison this week.

The shooting happened Wednesday afternoon in the area of ​​Lacy Boulevard and 10th Avenue.

Hanford Police say 23-year-old Cruz Avalos was turning his car around when he was shot by someone from a passing car.

Avalos was rushed to the hospital, where he later died.

On Monday, police announced the arrest of Roman Perdue, 19, of Hanford.

“We have definitely identified the suspect, who is now in custody. This is a 19-year-old boy here in the city of Hanford. His name is Roman Perdue.”

The arrest comes after police took a 16-year-old suspect into custody hours after Avalos was killed.

Police said over the weekend that the teenager is no longer a suspect in the fatal shooting.

“It’s not ideal that we initially identified another party that was not involved in our shooting at this point,” said Hanford Police Chief Stephanie Huddleston.

“We worked on the basis of the information we had, and sometimes these mistakes happen. The most important thing is just to continue to scrutinize her and make sure that you know that this is the person, and we were able to determine that it is not.”

While the 16-year-old has now been cleared of murder, he continues to face firearms charges.

Kings County sheriff’s deputies say they found a 9mm handgun in his possession when he was arrested after fleeing the scene of an unrelated shooting that injured a man at Santa Rosa Rancheria near Lemoore Thursday morning.

He was brought to court on Monday.

“The new charges against the 16-year-old girl are related to crimes the sheriff described last week,” said Kings County District Attorney Sarah Hacker.

Hacker says Cruz Avalos’ family has been informed of the latest developments in the case, which they hope will bring them one step closer to justice and closure.

“My heart goes out to them. This is a tragic event. We really feel for their situation and what they’re going through,” Chief Huddleston said.

The 19-year-old suspect has now been charged with murder in connection with the killing of Cruz Avalos.

This is the third homicide this year in the city of Hanford.

Action News learned Thursday that Purdue is out of jail and no charges have been filed.

We have reached out to the Kings County District Attorney’s office but have not yet heard back.

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