FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — According to the Fresno police, there have been six homicides in March alone.
This is more than double the amount that was seen this time last year.
Nine homicides in the City of Fresno so far this year, compared to four by this time in 2025.
“We recognize that this is going to be a very busy week. We have extra patrols that will be working, not necessarily to relate to this violence, but just to keep the city safe itself,” says Fresno Police Lt. Brian Valles.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Valles announced an increased reward for tips that help them find these two murder suspects.
On March 15, Police say 21-year-old Jamie Martinez shot and killed 32-year-old Shannon Ivory at an apartment complex in northwest Fresno after a roommate dispute.
Then just four days later, another killing. 40-year-old Michael Dorsey is believed to have shot and killed Perry Paul Espinosa, father of four, after a fight in southwest Fresno.
“These are close together. We recognize the immediacy of taking these armed and dangerous individuals off the street. We have had difficulty locating them, so we wanted to increase that incentive for people to call in and provide us with that information,” says Valles.
The group Enough Gun Violence, Fresno’s Brady Chapter, says there are often three common causes linked to gun violence: historical segregation, concentrated poverty and community disinvestment.
“Wherever you see those three areas underlying is where you will see gun violence,” says James Mendez with Enough Gun Violence.
Mendez tells Action News non-violent intervention groups like Advance Peace make a huge impact.
In April of 2025, the group lost a $2 million grant, which was revoked in President Trump’s federal spending cuts.
Since this loss in funding, they’ve scaled back their operations. Mendez believes this may be linked to the spike in crime. He says there are several solutions to the epidemic, like increased trust in police and higher employment rates.
“This is a systemic problem. One approach is not going to be able to control it,” says Mendez.
Fresno PD said the reward for the two newly identified suspects has been increased to $3,000 for each.
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