3 alleged gang members charged with murder in girl's freeway shooting death
DUBLIN, Calif. - Three alleged gang members were charged with murder Friday in connection with the shooting death of a 5-year-old girl on Interstate 880 in Fremont while heading out to dinner with her family,
Humberto Anaya, 29, Emmanuel Sarango, 27, and Kristo Ayala Valderrama, 25, are being held at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin without bail.
Anaya and Ayala Valderrama had already been charged by Alameda County prosecutors with assault with a firearm and gun violations in a separate shooting on Fremont city streets in which no one was hurt, records show.
Family friend speaks about freeway shooting that took 5-year-old girl's life
The family was heading to a birthday celebration on southbound I-880 near the Dixon Landing exit when gun shots rang out. Ashley, who has known Eliyanah’s mother for nearly a decade, says the family is devastated.
The three men were arrested after two shootings in Fremont on April 8, one on Fremont Boulevard near Norris Road and the other on I-880 in which Eliyanah, 5, was shot and killed while riding with her family.
Anaya and Ayala Valderrama left Fremont in a red Honda Accord that was stopped hours later by Santa Cruz police with the help of California Highway Patrol officers and Scotts Valley police, authorities said.
Although all three men were charged with murder, District Attorney Pamela Price's office did not charge them with any special circumstances or gang or gun sentencing enhancements. Her predecessor, Nancy O'Malley, typically had filed such enhancements in cases of this nature.
In a statement, Price said, "My heart goes out to Eliyanah’s family. There is no reason young children should die on our Bay Area freeways. This behavior is absolutely unacceptable. We will not stand for gun violence, and these three defendants will be held accountable for their despicable actions."
A family friend told KTVU the girl's parents had a simple message: "all they ask is justice for their baby girl."
Family members found the .45-caliber round that killed Eliyanah.
Eliyanah would have turned 6 on April 21.