KING CITY — Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced Sept. 16 that Eliazar Arellano Ayron, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder while personally using a firearm for the benefit of the Sureno criminal street gang.
On Dec. 26, 2021, Ayron, a Sureno criminal street gang member from King City, and three other Sureno gang members — including Raul Lucas who in 2022 was sentenced to 58 years-to-life on this case — drove to Sussex Way in King City where they ambushed the victims as they exited their vehicle in front of their house.
The victims were shot numerous times and killed. King City street cameras captured the license plate of the vehicle involved in the murders. A search warrant was served at the Salinas residence associated with the vehicle and one of the firearms used in the murders was located.
Ayron fled the jurisdiction after the murders, but a task force from numerous jurisdictions assembled and successfully apprehended him nine months later in a rural and remote area in Groveland, Calif.
The Honorable Andrew G. Liu accepted Ayron’s guilty plea to the murders and will preside over the sentencing on Dec. 4. Ayron will receive 70 years-to-life in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations for the two murders. His conviction is considered two strikes under California Three Strikes Laws.
