Salinas Man Pleads No Contest to Attempted Murder of a Police Officer and Assault with a Semiautomatic Firearm

SALINAS, California- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced on Monday, August 23 that Daniel Macias Victoria pled no contest to attempted murder of a police officer for his role in a December 2019 officer-involved shooting, and assault with a semiautomatic firearm for an incident that occurred days earlier. Victoria also admitted to an enhancement for personal use and intentional discharge of a firearm. On December 8, 2019, Victoria had a dispute with a male confidential victim near Market Way and California Street in Salinas during which Victoria drew a gun and shot at the man but missed. The man fought back before Victoria shot again striking the man’s bicep with a bullet. Victoria fled the scene, and the man was treated at the hospital for his wound. On December 11, 2019, after identifying Victoria as a suspect in the California Street shooting, Salinas Police Officer Evan Adams attempted to pull over Victoria for a traffic violation that evolved into a lengthy pursuit through the City of Salinas and continued into unincorporated Monterey County on Alisal Road. Officer Daniel Garcia took the lead in the pursuit before Victoria reached out his window with a gun and shot twice in the direction of Officer Garcia but missed. The pursuit terminated in a field just outside of Gonzales when Victoria’s truck and the officers’ patrol vehicles became disabled in the mud. In the course of a subsequent standoff with police, during which officers surrounded Victoria’s truck from approximately 100 yards away, Victoria fired another round in the officers’ direction but missed the officers. At that point, the officers returned fire and subsequently arrested Victoria. On September 21, 2021, the Honorable Mark E. Hood will sentence Victoria to 25 years in state prison. These convictions constitute two “strikes” under California’s Three Strikes law, and his plea to attempted murder qualifies as a “super strike” conviction that could result in a life sentence for any future felony conviction. This case was primarily investigated by District Attorney Investigators Oliver Minnig, George Costa, and Jennifer Mendoza along with Salinas Police Detective Robert Miller and Officer Evan Adams.