WATSONVILLE — Investigation into the early-morning deaths of two Watsonville men gunned down in an agricultural area east of the city has been upgraded to homicide, law enforcement authorities say.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is treating last week’s deaths of Jeremiah Rios Aguilera and Giovanni Aburto Lopez, both 21 years old, as a “targeted attack,” agency spokesperson Ashley Keehn wrote in a media release Monday. Deputies responding to a reported shooting shortly before 1 a.m. Friday on the 700 block of Carlton Road found both men unresponsive on the ground outside, according to Keehn. Despite life-saving efforts, both men died at the scene, according to authorities.
Watsonville police named Aburto in February as a “known gang member” with “several outstanding warrants” who was contacted as part of a multi-agency firearms enforcement operation. In an online effort raising funds for Aburto’s family’s funeral expenses, organizers said he was on a pathway to becoming a firefighter and would take on volunteer firefighting duties. According to the page, Aburto’s father also died a couple of months earlier.
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“Gio was a brother a son a cousin a great friend and a wonderful loving person,” according to a message posted by fundraising organizer Gisselle Cortez. “He would do anything for anybody.. no questions asked. He had a pure heart, shy when meeting new people and never hurt anyone.”
An online fundraising page to pay funeral expenses for Aguilera, also known by family as “Jeremy,” was launched in the days following his death. Aguilera faced convictions in both April and in 2021 for charges related to illegal gun possession.
Keehn said the investigation into the identity of Aguileras and Aburto’s killer or killers remained ongoing this week and that no arrests had been made.
Investigators are asking anyone with information to call dispatch at 831-471-1121.
