SALINAS, California- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced on April 18, 2025
that a jury convicted 21-year-old Jonathan Rojas of Greenfield, of first-degree murder.
On December 31, 2020, around 6:51 p.m., Greenfield police responded to a shooting on Heidi
Drive. Officers approached the victim’s car idling in the driveway and saw multiple bullet holes in
the driver’s window. They found the victim, Ricardo Gonzalez, dead inside the vehicle with corresponding
gunshot wounds.
During the investigation, law enforcement executed an early morning search warrant at Rojas’s
house, arrested him, and seized his cell phone that had been hastily discarded in a toilet. The cell
phone was undamaged and contained evidence of his involvement in the murder, including location
data showing him near the crime scene when the victim was killed. Law enforcement also seized
Rojas’s shoes, which were consistent with shoe impressions documented where witnesses saw the
suspect fleeing.
The jury also considered evidence of Rojas’s involvement with the Norteno criminal street gang, his
derogatory statement following his arrest about the victim, and whose murder had been authorized
by the gang.
The jury convicted Rojas of first-degree murder and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, and also
found it true that he used a firearm in the commission of those offenses.
Judge Rafael Vazquez will sentence Rojas on May 27, 2025. He faces up to life in state prison.
This case was investigated by Greenfield Detective Justin Mattke and District Attorney Investigator
Peter Austen.
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