UPDATE: Stockton Shooting Victim Identified But Dies In Hospital
STOCKTON (CBS13) - Stockton Police learned the identify of a drive-by shooting victim on Tuesday, several days after he was shot, but the man died in the hospital Tuesday night.
Police said Pedro Valenzuela, 32, is the man who was shot along the 400 block of W. Third Street on Friday night along with a 24-year-old woman.
Valenzuela was on life support at San Joaquin General Hospital but Tuesday evening hospital staff reported the he died from his injuries.
The woman, whose name hasn't been released, was able to talk to emergency personnel the night of the shooting, but Valenzuela was unconscious and attempts to find his name or any little bit of information about him were unsuccessful until co-workers recognized him after media reports on Monday .
"The investigative steps we normally take and we did this in this case, were fingerprints and when we entered his fingerprints in the system, no name came back," Officer Joe Silva said.
Prior to his identity coming to light, nurses said they hoped Valenzuela's hands will help yield clues about where he works and ultimately his name.
"His hands look like maybe he was a car repair person," RN Cynthia Williams said Monday. "He had working hands, some callous on them a little, what appears to be oil on his hands."
The mystery took a toll on hospital staff caring for the critically injured stranger.
"It's very heartbreaking when we have someone here so young and we can't locate any relatives or family members or even friends," Williams said.
Police haven't made any arrests in connection to the shooting. Valenzuela is now the city's 66th homicide victim of the year.
