19-year-old suspect in Hanford homicide injured in shooting near Lemoore

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's now been one week since 23-year-old Cruz Avalos was shot and killed in his car at 10th Avenue and Lacey Boulevard in Hanford.

Police have identified 19-year-old Roman Perdue as the suspect in that deadly drive-by.

Now, the Kings County Sheriff's Office confirms Perdue was also the victim of a shooting hours later at the Santa Rosa Rancheria.

The person who pulled the trigger in that case is still on the loose.

Authorities say Perdue was driving when he was shot at multiple times.

He was struck on the cheek as seen in his mugshot.

A 16-year-old boy and an underage girl were both in the car with him at the time.

"The female and juvenile did run in from the scene after the shooting occurred and we were able to catch them and taken into custody the female was later released to family and the juvenile had been taken into custody and turned over to Hanford PD," explained Chris Martin with the Kings County Sheriff's Office.

Detectives initially believed the 16-year-old killed Avalos but announced days later he was no longer a suspect.

However, he is still facing gun charges because of a weapon found during his arrest.

The sheriff's office is working to determine if the two shootings are connected while acknowledging multiple families have been impacted by the violence.

"You can't replace people, so you have a bunch of folks out right now taking lives left and right with no real consequences," expressed Martin.

With all the recent developments, prosecutors have requested an extension to file charges against Perdue.

Kings County District Attorney Sarah Hacker says drive-by shootings are always difficult to investigate.

"Very complicated, very difficult and we wanna make sure that we do it right," expressed Hacker.

As of Thursday, no charges have been filed against Perdue and he has since been released from jail.

Action News is still waiting to hear back from the district attorney's office to find out when charges could be filed.

The sheriff's office is still asking anyone with information to come forward.

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