Murder in Ham City

Investigators from the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the murder of a Hamilton City man who was gunned down on the 200 block of Main Street at an apartment complex directly across from the small town’s post office.

José Carlos Mata Sánchez, a 20-year-old farm worker, was shot to death at about 5:30 a.m. as he was leaving for his job, according to reports in the Chico Enterprise-Record. Based on accounts from witnesses, authorities have linked his assailant to a red Nissan pickup truck.

Investigators say the suspect was not in the truck, which was driven by another man, when he opened fire on Sanchez, who was taken by ambulance to Enloe Medical Center. He was pronounced dead about an hour after the shooting.

Sanchez is not thought to be a gang member. Anyone with info related to the homicide is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 934-6431.