Suspected Gang Members Charged in Freeway Murder of a 5-Year-Old Girl
Photo: Stock Image
FREMONT— A child died in a freeway shooting and three suspected gang members have been arrested and charged with murder. The suspects are also charged with shooting at an occupied vehicle and shooting at a pedestrian the same day.
Tragically, a family of six was driving along Interstate 880 on April 8 at 6:40 p.m., when gunfire erupted. A bullet pierced the heart of five-year-old Eliyanah Crisostomo killing her.
Her family’s vehicle was evidently targeted by mistake. It happened only minutes after shots were fired at a pedestrian on Fremont Boulevard. But no one was injured in the first shooting.
In a prepared statement the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office said. “Gang members fired into the car Eliyanah was riding in with her family, believing it was a rival gang car.”
Fremont police investigated the pedestrian shooting and California Highway Patrol investigated the freeway shooting. It soon became evident the same suspects committed both shootings.
Surveillance cameras enabled investigators to identify the vehicle used by the suspects. The red Honda Accord was spotted the same day on Highway 17 in Santa Cruz County. CHP officers and police from Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley pursued it.
The three suspects arrested in connection with both shootings are –
- Humberto Anaya, 29, of Fremont
- Emmanuel A. Sarango, 27, of Fremont
- Kristo Ayala-Valderrama, 25, of Pleasanton
Regarding the pedestrian shooting, all three suspects have been charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm. Ayala-Valderrama and Anaya also face charges for carrying a concealed loaded firearm.
