Mexico deports Buffalo Wild Wings shooting suspect back to Salinas after bail error

A man suspected in a Salinas Buffalo Wild Wings shooting two years ago headed to Mexico after his bail was mistakenly reduced, authorities said.

But this month, Mexican authorities deported the Chualar man back to the U.S. to face several felony charges, including attempted murder.

On July 5, Mexican federal police apprehended Raul Hernandez, 29, in Morelia, Michoacan, according to James Laughlin, a Monterey County deputy district attorney. The investigation was done in coordination with U.S. Marshals and Salinas police.

"It's a serious case and we have our detectives that have been working diligently on the case, and finally we are able to bring it to the court system by having this guy in custody," said Miguel Cabrera, public information officer for the Salinas Police Department. "It's very satisfying to be able to work, in this case, with the Mexican authorities to be able to bring this individual to the jurisdiction to face his day in court."

Hernandez — a known member of the Sureño criminal street gang — was wanted for a Sept. 17, 2017 shooting outside the Salinas Buffalo Wild Wings. 

His co-defendant in the case, Juventino Carlos Meza, 32, was already sentenced last February to 21 years in state prison.

Court records from Meza's case shed light on the 2017 incident prosecuted by Laughlin.

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As NFL games played on television screens that Sunday afternoon, Hernandez and Meza, both wearing Dallas Cowboys jerseys, got into a heated argument outside the restaurant with a man only identified as wearing a black shirt and blue jeans.

The man returned inside the restaurant at the urging of the restaurant's manager. Hernandez and Meza also went inside momentarily but left and got into a 2012 silver Chevy Impala — with Cowboys flags protruding from the car's rear windows — registered to Meza's father. The two briefly drove across the street, to Northridge Mall, and returned to Buffalo Wild Wings.

In the parking lot, Hernandez and Meza found the man and a suspected rival Norteño gang member, driving a black Chevy Impala. Gunshots were fired at the black Impala, but no one was hit.

Both vehicles fled the scene.

Salinas police's Shotspotter gunshot location system alerted officers of nine shots fired just before 3 p.m. that day. On scene, officers spoke with witnesses and collected shell casings in the parking lot, in addition to retrieving video surveillance of the incident.

An ensuing Salinas police investigation identified Hernandez and Meza as suspects and warrants were placed for their arrests.

Along with video and photographic surveillance identifying the two, Hernandez was on parole and wore an ankle monitor that tracked his GPS positioning at the time of the incident, a Salinas police detective had testified in court.

Detectives contacted Meza at his East Salinas home in October 2017, finding a Cowboys jersey resembling the one caught on video, as well as a 9mm handgun and Sureño paraphernalia, according to court records. No ammunition for the 9mm gun was found, however.

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Prior contact with Meza also indicated he was a member of the Salinas Vagos subset of the Sureño criminal street gang, an officer with Salinas police's gang task force had described in court.

Meza and Hernandez were arrested in October 2017 for felony charges related to the shooting, as well as gang and prior felony enhancements. Both were placed on a $2 million bail.

They also have prior strikes, dating back to cases in 2011 and 2013, along with previous gang-related offenses.

Initially, Hernandez pleaded not guilty to the 2017 shooting charges, per court records.

Yet between Oct. 27, 2017 and Nov. 1, 2017, Hernandez's bail amount was changed from $2 million to $50,000 "due to clerical error," according to a February 2018 minute order. He posted bail Feb. 8, 2018 and apparently went to Mexico instead of returning to court.

"Our review of the case record reveals nothing more about the reason for the change than is what is in the publicly available information," wrote a Monterey County Superior Court spokesperson in an email Tuesday. "The only way to get more information would be to ask a judge," though said judicial ethics prevent them from commenting on pending cases.

A warrant was again placed for Hernandez's arrest as Meza's case continued.

Following a change of plea last November, Meza was sentenced in February for assault with a semiautomatic firearm, street terrorism and two counts of possession of firearm by a felon, plus a prior prison term enhancement. He is currently incarcerated at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga.

Hernandez's case, however, remained ongoing.

It wasn't until July that authorities arrested Hernandez in Morelia, the capital of the Mexican state of Michoacan. Hernandez was deported the same day, to Los Angeles County, because he was in Mexico illegally, Laughlin said.

Nicole Navas Oxman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice's International Law Enforcement, confirmed Hernandez was not extradited to the U.S.

Court records show an arrest warrant returned by Southern California's West Covina police July 6. Hernandez was later booked into the Monterey County Jail, where he's now held.

So far, there's been no indication from authorities as to why he was in Michoacan. A U.S. Marshals spokesperson did not have information on the case.

"He has some ties to Michoacan," Cabrera said. "He wouldn't just go there out of the blue."

Hernandez faces charges for two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a semiautomatic rifle, street terrorism, and a felon in possession of a firearm, with added gang and prior strike enhancements. He now also faces a felony failure to appear in court with an enhancement.

It's unclear who shot the gun, though, and it may not matter.

"Both are on the hook for everything," Laughlin said of Hernandez and Meza. "If you drive and help somebody — and they shoot, the same legal principles apply. It's as if you shot, essentially."

Hernandez's next court date is scheduled for Thursday. 

His bail remains set, again, at $2 million.

This article was updated to correct when Hernandez posted bail and clarify the nature of his deportation.

Contact reporter Eduardo Cuevas at ecuevas@thecalifornian.com or 831-269-9363. To support this kind of work, please subscribe.