Three killed in drive-by shooting in Santa Cruz; suspects in custody

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Three Watsonville men were in custody Sunday after a drive-by shooting in Santa Cruz that left three men dead, police said.

The three were arrested in Watsonville early Saturday morning. Salvador Garcia, 20, Jesus Salazar, 18, and Luis Rios, 18, were booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail on homicide charges. They were scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.

The three victims were shot about 1:30 a.m. Saturday. They were identified as Vladimir Hernandez-Hernandez, 17, Luis Reyes Escobar, 19 and Francisco Javier Escalante, 24. All were from Santa Cruz.

Witnesses said the victims were walking home from a dance when a dark car sped by and its occupants opened fire. Neighbors heard about a half-dozen shots.

''They just drove by so fast and started shooting everybody,'' said Juan Reyes, 12.

Two of the men were declared dead at the scene and the third died after he was taken to Dominican Hospital, Santa Cruz police Lt. Howard Skerry said.

Police do not have a motive in the shootings.

''We're trying to follow up on a lot of different rumors,'' Police Chief Steve Belcher said. ''What we have is a shooting, and we're trying to figure out why.''

The slayings were the first homicides in Santa Cruz this year, Belcher said.