Yuma police release name of murder victim
Yuma police are asking for anyone with information about an overnight murder of a man in a downtown parking lot last week to come forward.
The victim has now been identified as 28-year-old Frank Martin Salazar Jr. of Yuma. He had been taken to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound.
During Friday's first-day investigation, detectives gathered evidence from the scene and questioned several people involved in the incident, but no one was taken into custody.
Detectives have spoken to several people but believe there may have been others in the area at the time the crime happened who have not yet spoken with police.
“We still want to talk to anyone who may have seen or heard something, who haven't spoken to us yet,” said Sgt. Leanne Worthen.
Worthen said the shooting may have been gang-related.
At about 1 a.m. Friday, officers were dispatched to a disturbance in a parking lot at 38 W. 2nd St., where officers found Salazar with a gunshot wound. Police did not say if he had been shot more than once or how many shots had been fired.
Yuma police also have not provided a motive for the shooting, or if it was the result of an altercation that began somewhere else.
YPD asks anyone with information about this case to call Sgt. Rodriguez at 373-4678, or 78-CRIME to remain anonymous.
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.
