Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies lead a teen male suspect to a patrol car following his arrest for the shooting death of 18-year-old Adrian Puga in Prunedale in November. (contributed)

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office have announced the arrest of a juvenile suspect in the shooting death of 18-year-old Adrian Puga during an illegal street takeover in Prunedale. 

Sheriff Tina Nieto made the announcement at a press conference Friday that the arrest was made in Sacramento. She made the announcement before members of Puga’s family.

Late on the night of Nov.9, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office and CHP received multiple calls from the area of Prunedale Road South and Blackie Road about a person that had been shot during the event, commonly called a sideshow. 

Sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers found Puga of Salinas with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died of his injuries.

Detectives received numerous tips, including videos, from community members. 

Detectives learned that several persons of interest were from the Sacramento area, and served more than 20 search warrants, including some in Sacramento. The search warrants eventually led to the identity of the suspect.

On March 12 at about 2:30pm, the Sacramento Police Department’s SWAT team assisted in arresting the suspect, who has not been named. He was extradited to Monterey County and has been booked into Juvenile Hall for one count of murder.

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Tarmo Hannula has been the lead photographer with The Pajaronian newspaper in Watsonville since 1997. More recently Good Times & Press Banner. He also reports on a wide range of topics, including police, fire, environment, schools, the arts and events. A fifth generation Californian, Tarmo was born in the Mother Lode of the Sierra (Columbia) and has lived in Santa Cruz County since the late 1970s. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz and has traveled to 33 countries.

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