(KMJ) – A tip leads to the arrest of a suspect wanted in the August 2020 murder of a Fresno man.
Here are the details as released by the Fresno Police Department:
On August 16, 2020, at 4:00 a.m., officers responded to Belmont Avenue and Backer Avenue regarding a victim of a shooting. Officers arrived and located 36-year-old Joshua Thao, suffering from a gunshot
wound. Officers and EMS personnel performed CPR on the victim but, Thao was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation determined Thao had arrived at the intersection after a family member was involved in a traffic collision. Several friends and family members of both parties involved in the traffic accident showed up to the scene. A verbal confrontation started between the two sides. During the argument, 20-year-old Damion Salinas armed himself with a handgun and fired several times, fatally wounding the victim.
Salinas fled the area and eluded arrest by law enforcement officials. An arrest warrant was ultimately issued for his arrest.
Earlier this year, the Fresno Police Department received an anonymous Crime Stoppers tip advising that Salinas was in Mexico. Investigators worked with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in efforts to locate Salinas. On March 30, 2022, Salinas was contacted in Mexico and arrested on the murder warrant.
He was extradited to the San Ysidro Point of Entry and booked into the San Diego County Jail where he is awaiting extradition back to Fresno. He is being held on $1.5 million bail.
