Cheerleading coach shot to death by ex-boyfriend as she gave him a ride, CA police say

A man asked his ex-girlfriend for a ride and then shot her to death, California officials said.

Two years later, Jacob Anthony Bustamantez pleaded guilty to the killing.

On July 5, 2022, Bustamantez, texted his ex-girlfriend, Faith Elizabeth Valenzuela for a ride, according to a Sept. 10 news release by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.

Traffic cameras showed the two driving toward Valenzuela’s home, officials said.

While Valenzuela was driving in Salinas, Bustamantez shot her, causing her to drive into a wooden fence off the road, prosecutors said.

Bustamantez fled the scene and left a pair of gloves, ammunition and a gun that was found a few days later on the roof of a home, prosecutors said.

Officers tried to revive Valenzuela at the scene, and she was transported to the Natividad Medical Center, where she eventually died, officials said.

Witnesses told police the two had dated in the past and they stayed in contact until Valenzuela no longer wanted to in the days leading to her death, officials said.

On July 7, 2022,, Bustamantez was found and arrested, officials said.

At first, he denied remaining in contact with his former girlfriend before admitting to fatally shooting her, officials said.

Valenzuela was a mother to a 10-year-old girl and a cheerleading coach at Everett Alvarez High School, according to a GoFundMe page.

The Everett Alvarez High School cheer team paid tribute to Valenzuela with a September 2022 Instagram post showing a video montage and captioned, “Friday we had the honor of dedicating our performance to Coach Faith. We love and miss you dearly.”

On Sept. 4, Bustamantez, 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, officials said.

He is facing 35 years to life in prison, according to prosecutors.

Salinas is about a 180-mile drive south of Sacramento.

This story was originally published September 11, 2024 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Cheerleading coach shot to death by ex-boyfriend as she gave him a ride, CA police say."