14-year-old in San Diego Murdered in Drive-by, 5 Arrested

A 14-year-old, identified as Erick Balanzar across the media, was killed in a drive-by shooting on Monday evening, at approximately 4:15 p.m. He was in San Diego, California, near the intersection of 36th and J Street, less than a block away from the Mount Hope Cemetery.

Balanzar was with a group of friends who had just left a bus stop to finish their journey back home from school. He had been attending King Chavez High School. The teen was shot at least once and died at the hospital.

An official motive has not been released, but there are some allegations of gang affiliation.

Now, a total of 5 people have been arrested on suspicion of murder against the teenager, though two of them are 17-years-old and will have their identities kept private because of this. The other three have been identified as 18-year-old Bryan Escobedo, 19-year-old Ethan Peaslee-Guerrero, and 18-year-old Omar Morales. 

All three of the publicly identified pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Thursday. They all remain in custody without bail. However, the two juvenile suspects are still awaiting their first court appearances, according to Fox 5 San Diego.

According to Erick’s older sister, Perla Balanzar, the group of friends was being followed by the suspects before the shooting took place. “They were following them since they had gotten off school. So yes, they were targeting them.”

The suspects had been following the group in a silver Toyota Highlander, and its plate had been traced to a fight that occurred earlier Monday. The fight had been attended by a large crowd at 1155 C St.

At around 3:35 p.m, San Diego Unified school police requested help from SDPD in order to respond to the incident, and at this point a number of the suspects left in the SUV.

However, the car was eventually located at 4600 Utah St, with all of the suspects except for one of the 17-year-olds inside. This was at 5:07 p.m. At this point, two of the suspects were detained and two ran away from officers, though the two who ran were found later at a nearby apartment. All of these were taken into custody.

The other of the 17-year-olds, the one suspected of firing the gun and killing Balanzar, was arrested around 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday during a traffic stop. This was near Interstate 805 and El Cajon Blvd, though more information was not provided.

Erick’s sister is somewhat vengeful, claiming, “They (suspects) know what they were doing – so we just want justice for what they did to my little brother.” She also notes that her brother was “a little kid, he was only 14,” and that the suspects were adults, implying they should have known and done better than killing the young teen.

NBC 7 San Diego reports that both of the 17-year-old suspects have been booked into Juvenile Hall, with the second of these facing a murder charge.

On Tuesday, family members mourned the loss of the teen and held an impromptu mass. His sister says that Erick was always with her. “If he had plans, he would cancel them and spend time with me and my daughter. He would always tell my daughter how much he loved her.”

A community activist named Lucky Morales says that the suspects will likely not do well with members of the surrounding neighborhoods. “They will answer to their peers, let me put it like that,” explaining that much of the community is giving the case a lot of attention. According to Morales, there’s a lot of passion and outcry, that the murder of a 14-year-old will not be taken lightly.

A GoFundMe account has been set up by Erick Balanzar’s family, hoping to aid in the funeral costs.