20 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 6-12, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com worker, they would not be armed and, they wrongly believed, no one would really care. Family members back home cared, and Salinas Police cared too. There are no officers who worked in Salinas during the decades of gang violence who were left unscathed by what they saw and experienced. “During this investigation, I had the opportunity to meet with family members and surviving victims,” retired Salinas Police Detective Byron Gansen says. “I met with some on the night of the homicides, some years later. It was difficult to see the pain each went through, but I was glad to provide some justice for their loss. Some of the families of the deceased were field workers who I met with on their way home from work. They discussed how difficult it was to lose their father/husband, not only losing the role model, but the financial burden put on them when they were already struggling.” Operation Redrum remains one of the most consequential investigations conducted by the Salinas Police Department. Detectives devoted countless hours to surveillance, interviews and painstaking investigative work because they believed the victims deserved justice. Dismantling this group of killers dramatically reduced homicides in Salinas, weakened gang influence and strengthened public confidence in continuing partnerships between local, state and federal law enforcement. Gansen was the lead Operation Redrum investigator. “This investigation began with a conversation in 2017 between myself and Detective Sgt. Chris Lane,” Gansen says. “We discussed similarities in several of the homicide cases starting in 2015. The Detective Bureau then followed links in homicides and attempted homicide cases from 2015 through 2018. The homicide victims and their families’ tragedies fueled my desire to find some justice and find answers they deserved.” Gansen received the 2021 California Peace Officer Award of Distinction for his involvement in the Redrum investigation. In total, seven gang members were charged federally and 12 faced state charges in Monterey County Superior Court. “Based on evidence recovered from the scenes, and cooperator information I believe the Murder Squad and their broader Norteño clique are responsible for multiple additional homicides and attempted homicides,” Gansen says. “But unfortunately, so far, there is still not quite enough evidence to prosecute these additional cases.” The investigation is expected to reach a conclusion on Aug. 27, when sentencing is scheduled take place for Ryan Meza and Joseph Garcia, who will plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter and attempted murder with additional firearm and gang enhancements for a February 2017 double homicide on Sunrise Street in Salinas, in which 27-year-old Jose Luis VargasFlores and 25-year-old Alejandro Ramirez were killed and two others wounded. On Aug. 27, Meza and Garcia are expected to be sentenced to 50 years in prison. Operation Redrum built upon previous investigations, such as Operation Day Break in 2015, and other earlier federal collaborations. Moving forward, efforts have continued with the work of Operation Dead End that led to 12 arrests in 2024 and additional Dead End indictments in 2026, which have further reduced gang violence. The investigation and subsequent state and federal prosecutions reduced crime in Salinas and Monterey County more broadly. In many ways, the Murder Squad represented the culmination of decades of metastasizing gang violence. These offenders planned and carried out killings because they enjoyed the killing itself. They had a pattern, a plan and a particular type of victim. There is no doubt these serial killings would have continued. The 2015 homicide total of 40 killings marked 30 years of escalating gang violence and frustration. The takedown of the Murder Squad, the ongoing collaboration with local, state and federal partners, Operation Redrum and—most importantly—a pivot toward community collaboration was a turning point for Salinas. It has been 10 years since Vice News labeled Salinas the “Youth Murder Capital of California.” Today, gang crime is at a notable low and current homicides are in the single digits; there were seven murders in Salinas in 2025, and six in 2024. We may not yet be in Steinbeck’s Eden, but Salinas has come a long way and we have much to be proud of. As we cast off the pall of violence, our community should not be judged by its dark past, but by how it embraces its bright future. Perhaps the land of promise and peace lies open before us. John C. Murray served for over 28 years in local law enforcement and was a police commander from 2016 to 2024. He retired as assistant chief of police and served as acting chief in his final year. He has been a resident of Salinas for almost 40 years. U.S. Attorneys displayed this map showing the locations of seven so-called “hunts” that killed eight people in 2017 and 2018. In 2020, a federal grand jury indicted six suspected members of the so-called “Murder Squad” (and added a seventh). Those suspects ranged in age from 24 to 33. MEMBERS OF THE MURDER SQUAD BELIEVED THESE VICTIMS WERE PEOPLE NO ONE WOULD MISS. “IT WAS DIFFICULT TO SEE THE PAIN EACH WENT THROUGH, BUT I WAS GLAD TO PROVIDE SOME JUSTICE FOR THEIR LOSS.” The yellow placards at this crime scene correspond to bullet casings found on Dennis Avenue in Salinas, where two cousins were shot and murdered on March 25, 2017. Both were agricultural field workers and had no known gang ties. PARKER SEIBOLD
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